Jesper Schmidt - Twitter for Authors

by

Jesper Schmidt

In 2013 an article appeared in Business Insider stating that Twitter has a problem. Most people you know arent on it.

That has long since changed, and with one billion unique visits every month Twitter is now the fastest way to spread your message. Besides, we are not looking to engage with people we know. We are hunting for new readers.

So what is Twitter and why should you care?

Twitter is a real-time short messaging service where users can exchange words of 140 characters or less over multiple networks or devices. Think of Twitter as a huge cocktail party where everyone is chatting to everyone all at once. People are dipping in and out of exchanges as they please, and no one stands a chance when it comes to keeping up with everything that is happening.

One of the great aspects of Twitter is its ease of use. Some people find its non-stop nature as exhausting as if they were on a hamster wheel, but dont give up just yet. This is where my system will come to your rescue.

Here are some benefits that Twitter can add to your author career:

• It enhances your communication skills. Delivering a solid message in just 140 characters demands you to be clear and concise
• It helps build your author brand
• It lets people get to know more about you and how you write
• It builds relationships with existing readers
• It finds you new readers
• It brings attention to your books without any money spent on advertising

How am I, one little fish in the pond, going to be heard above all that noise?

For one, its certainly not about shouting louder than everybody else! Thats an approach that will not only earn you sore fingers from all the frantic typing, but also drain your energy and time. Remember, we are on a mission to get your message out there, be heard and save time, while not making any compromises between these benefits.

The route to how you can achieve just that is one of giving. Be generous, be helpful, and soon you will find people recognizing you as a real and interesting human being whom they want to learn more about.

It might sound simple, but the truth is that many just dont get it. They believe they can walk into the virtual room that is Twitter and shout, Hi everyone! I just published my book and of course you want to buy it!

This does absolutely nothing apart from filling up the Twitter feed of those who could have become future fans. Now they will ignore, or even block, your next tweet.

Social media is about building relationships and that begins with having meaningful conversations. People will start caring about your books once they get to know you better. Until then, you are just another author, with another ebook, among the millions roaming on Amazon or other online stores. Its not the book thats interesting, its you.

Lets get to work then, shall we? The best way to understand the power of Twitter is to see it in action.

I have lost count of how many times I have heard fellow authors voice opinionated views on how Twitter is useless for them.

Do you recognize statements like, "Twitter is a waste of time" or "Twitter is the worst marketing tool"? How about this one: "Twitter is useless"?

Perhaps you are one of those frustrated authors and have picked up this book with a skeptical mindset? Thats fine. I'm here to help. Once we reach the last chapter, you will have a system in place that will revolutionize your view on using Twitter as a cornerstone in your marketing efforts.

What if you are just starting out and havent finished writing your book yet?

Well, having a large, active and engaging Twitter platform will increase your chances of finding success. It doesnt matter if you are at the beginning of your career, or have published many books already. The methods shared in this book will be equally valid.

Or perhaps you believe in the fact that Twitter can effective, but you just havent found the proper approach yet. No matter your reason for picking up this book, I welcome you and assure you that you have come to the right place.

You can certainly find success without including Twitter in your marketing strategy, but if you ask me whether thats a wise choice, the answer is a resounding No!

There is no better platform than Twitter when it comes to cultivating new readers in a non-intrusive manner. In other words, what I will teach you throughout this book will be nothing like the irritating Buy my book! Buy my book! Buy my book! tweets you have undoubtedly come across. Obnoxious self-promotion like that will never work, unless the objective is to give me a headache.

Unfortunately, authors at all levels are guilty of filling up Twitter with Buy my book messages and more get added to the pile every day. Its the worst way to go about marketing and it seems that the fact that Twitter is a social platform has been lost in translation. You have to be social and treat people like people. Its those small, human interactions that make the big difference, not pleading people to buy books. People purchase from those they trust and like, not from random strangers. Once you learn how to build connections without spending every waking hour on Twitter then success will follow.

Fun Fact: Every month Twitter has over one billion unique visits and 313 million active users

We are all just small fish, trying to draw attention to our good books, in the vastness of the Twitter-ocean. However, the old-school rule of marketing that talks about making the customer feel important has not become invalid just because social media came into existence. Your job is not only to write books, but also to connect with your audience. One of the biggest hurdles in all of this is, of course, time. Believing Twitter to be a waste of time is one thing, but something completely different is wanting to use Twitter on a tight schedule. There is a very high likelihood that no matter your opinion of Twitter, you will still view it as a time-suck. Am I right?

Most authors are unable to get anything productive out of Twitter in less than an hour a day, and I have even heard of some racking up two or three hours in an attempt to manage life on Twitter. While its essential in todays world to involve yourself on social media and with modern readers who expect a two-way connection with the author, it doesnt have to end up draining all of your time and energy. Instead, this book will concern itself with taking control of your Twitter marketing effort without diverting time away from the craft of writing.

Im a family man myself. Between two kids, a house, a full-time job, chores and all the rest, I also have time constraints. They say it takes ten thousand hours to master a new trade, but using the system I will teach you in the coming chapters, I have found a hidden short cut. I have freed myself from the constant demand of social media and it no longer feels like an item on my to-do list. I actually enjoy it.

Hopefully its already clear by now that Im not going to teach you how to spam people with automated tweet schedulers that send out repetitive promotions. That would be completely counterproductive to the words you have read so far. Instead, the techniques in this book will help you become efficient while at the same time grow your influence exponentially.

Technology is an integral part of achieving such results, and to that end there is a certain level of automation involved. I will promise you this, though: its put to use in such a delicate way that it will leave you with a vibrant Twitter account that doesnt have the slightest smell of machine to it.