Sunday, June 12, 2011

Birds of a Feather

 Years ago, I’m told, all authors had to do was write. They left promoting their books up to their agents and publishers. It’s different today. Now authors are not only the creative product developer, in charge of research and development as well as delivery of the final manuscript, but also the head of marketing and promotion.  Authors must proactively promote their work by developing a relationship with their readers through regular contact and interaction. A great example is Twitter, with 140 characters of unique pithy interaction.


With thousands of Tweets flying around, how do you get yours noticed? Just when is the best time to Tweet?


For the last two years, HubSpot’s Dan Zarella has been studying tweets and has come up with some suggestions for the best time and frequency to tweet.


·         Be prepared to resend your tweet 2 to 4 times a day for maximum impact.
·         Schedule tweets for 2 PM, 4 PM, 6 PM and the last one at 8 PM. This will expose your message to the most people and drive your traffic and retweets.
·         Alter your message for each tweet so it doesn’t look like spam
·         Zarella also found that the best days to tweet were Saturday and Sunday
Do you Twitter? What time is best for you? How often do you Tweet?
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8 comments:

  1. Eliza KnightJune 12, 2011 at 11:56 AM

    Ruth, thanks for the advice! I've been trying to gather more and more info about Twitter, and even took Harlequin's twitter workshop for authors. I'm trying to get better. I TRY to tweet one time a day. And some days I do way more than once a day. I'm also trying to look at my @mentions and @replies and write back to people, as well as comment on or retweet other people's tweets. I have two twitter accounts though, and I've only been active on one. I'm going to set up Tweetdeck this week so I can do both at one time.

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  2. Joelene ColemanJune 12, 2011 at 11:57 AM

    Just bought Kristen Lamb's "We Are Not Alone" and "Are You There Blog" so I can learn how to tweet. I log on, check, do my tiny blurb and fly away. It scares me, literally. I'm much more comfortable with blogging, which frightened me a year ago, too, but now, I love it. I'm hoping I'll feel the same way about Twitter next year. Thanks for the info lady!

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  3. Ruth A CasieJune 12, 2011 at 12:00 PM

    @Eliza Knight

    Hi - I know how you feel. I have my FaceBook and Twitter accounts tied together this way when I add my blog information to FaceBook it automatically goes to Twitter.

    I still find it a challenge though especially when I'm doing edits. I lose track of time. I need to set an alarm clock with a reminder which, come to think of it, may not be a bad idea!

    Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. It's always great to hear from you.

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  4. Ruth A CasieJune 12, 2011 at 12:04 PM

    @J. Coleman

    Hi Joelene - Let me know what you think of the 'text' books. You are so right about tweeting. I don't know how many times I've gone to respond to someone's tweet and chicken out (that's a fowl joke).

    Thanks for leaving a comment. I look forward to them.

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  5. AnonymousJune 14, 2011 at 9:14 AM

    Great advice. I have to learn to do the Tweet Deck so that one post can do double duty on FB and Tw. Right now, I tweet in the morning when I get up and my schedule is clear.

    I try to tweet each day and at least one facebook post every other day.

    I also linked my tweets to my blog, which I think helps.

    Keep that good advice coming. ---maria ferrer

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  6. Ruth A CasieJune 14, 2011 at 9:23 AM

    @Anonymous

    Hi Maria -

    I have to admit that it's difficult to do the social media thing while working the two week turn around on edits for my editor. It's a learning process, I hope to catch up on.

    Thanks for stopping by and for leaving a comment.

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  7. Sandy BJune 16, 2011 at 8:14 AM

    I just got a Twitter account and I keep forgetting to tweet. What do I write about? my book? my WIP? the writing life? Does anyone out there really care?

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  8. Ruth A CasieJune 16, 2011 at 3:33 PM

    @Sandy B

    What to write about is a great topic for another blog! The goal of Twitter, for an author, is to build their fan base. And fans want to get to know you. So, I think it's a combination of who you are, what you write about and your book. Not necessarily your stuck in traffic and annoyed.

    I hope this helps.

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