Twitter can be confusing for a lot of authors. They have heard or they think they should be using it, but they do not know exactly how to use it to connect with readers and get more sales. In this guest post, author Carmen Amato shares some basic hashtags that authors can use throughout the week.
Why do so many authors miss the mark when it comes to using Twitter?
You’re on Twitter, connecting people, retweeting like mad, happy to see a few new followers every day. But hardly any of your book links are retweeted. So you rejigger the taglines and the hashtags.
But still hardly any retweets.
Make it easy for friends
When a fellow author retweets a book link of mine, I try to return the favor. It is always a disappointment if I can’t find any tweets about their own books when I check out their profile. Don’t make me scroll through 100 tweets (not going to happen, let’s be honest) to find a personal tweet instead of a zillion retweets.
If your personal tweet isn’t found, it isn’t going to be retweeted. Fewer retweets = less visibility. Fewer chances for engagement and discovery.
Use your week
One way to have personal tweets stand out is by using hashtags. Anyone who uses Twitter for a day knows that hashtags are a way to target a tweet to particular interests, i.e #mystery or #romance.
You can go beyond category hashtags, however, with a whole week of hashtags designed to introduce your content to engaged readers, you could continue to use hashtags only to boost your current Twitter book marketing.
Using the chart below, tweet what is relevant to that hashtag on the specific day:
#MondayBlogs: Tweet a link to a blog post from your blog or another author’s. Ideally the blog is published on that Monday.
#TeaserTues: Tweet a link to an excerpt, with a brief but tantalizing quote from it.
#WW or #WriterWednesday: Give a shoutout to fellow authors, with a short reason for following them. You can list more than one author in a tweet. It’s a nice thing to do, plus a great way to build a following.
#IndieThursday: Tweet a shout or a link for a fellow indie author, or just a link to your own indie-pubbed book.
#FridayReads: Tweet suggested weekend reading. Yours of course, but also books you recommend.
#SampleSaturday: Share a one sentence writing sample, put it in quotes, and add the link to the book.
#Sample Sunday: the same as Saturday but possibly a bit more well known to readers surfing for their next read.
That’s it. Update your calendar—and your Twitter feed—this week! Put Twitter to use for you. These hashtags won’t work magic, but they will help you to connect with other authors who are also promoting their works, as well as exposure your books to readers who are searching these hashtags for new books to read and new authors to connect with.
In addition to political thriller The Hidden Light of Mexico City, Carmen Amato is the author of the Emilia Cruz mystery series set in Acapulco, including Cliff Diver, Hat Dance, Diablo Nights, and the collection of short stories Made in Acapulco. Originally from New York, Carmen’s experiences living in Mexico and Central America drive the authenticity and drama of her writing. Visit her website at carmenamato.net for a free copy of The Beast, the first Emilia Cruz story.