Reality Check: The Pointlessness of Following Randomly
In the past few days, I’ve had a rash of new followers. I mean, I get a healthy number of followers on a regular basis, but these are different. They don’t make any sense. I’m being followed by people who cannot possibly have any interest in me, what I have to say, and what I do.
They’re engaged in the Twitter equivalent of a fishing expedition, hoping I’ll follow back without thinking twice. No, sorry. I won’t. Chances are, I’m going to block you before I follow you.
Harsh? Maybe, but it’s time for a reality check. If your approach to Twitter is to follow as many people as possible, hoping they’ll follow you back, you’re doing it wrong. What is the point of having a 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, or even a million followers if they’re not listening? You don’t get a prize for having large numbers of followers.
Read the entire entry …Using Web 2.0 Tools To Build Your Author Platform
In today’s podcast I talk with author and self-publishing expert Joanna Penn.
Like many authors, Joanna has spent an extraordinary amount of time online using various tools to build her personal brand and promote her writing. In the process she’s become something of an expert on how all of the various Web 2.0 tools can be used to build an author platform.
In fact, she’s just released the Author 2.0 Blueprint, a free report designed to provide authors with a roadmap through the sometimes bewildering array of online promotional and publishing options.
We cover a lot of ground in this interview, including:
- The single most important thing every author should do before they start promoting their book online.
- The three most important things authors should be doing online to promote themselves.
- Advice for authors who have a limited amount of time for online promotion.
- How alternate publishing methods like digital publishing and print on demand can be used as part of your larger promotional strategy.
Listen to the interview:
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Links from the interview:
- The Author 2.0 Blueprint
- The Creative Penn
- AudioBoo (iPhone app)
- Scribd
- SmashWords
How Authors and Publishing Professionals Use Twitter
We often say (okay, we always say) there is no right way to use Twitter. Part of what makes the Twitter experience so much fun is the fact that everyone brings their individual style to the conversation. As publishing professionals — from authors to evangelists — discover how effective Twitter is for communication, these styles combine to create an industry-wide discussion that extends from “what are you reading?” to “what is the future of publishing?”
Read the entire entry …The Truth About Twitter
I hope this video will clear up any misconceptions you may have about Twitter. There’s been so much hype lately, it’s time someone spoke honestly about the topic.
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You can learn more about twitter at Tweet Camp, a new online workshop from Booksquare University.
The Book Trade Directory is a Who’s Who of Publishing Professionals on Twitter
Jennifer Tribe, of Highspot Inc., is a Twitter evangelist and rightfully so. As a consultant who advises clients on non-fiction publishing projects, she’s witnessed the power of Twitter as a tool for networking and keeping pace with the rapidly changes facing publishing in the digital era. And she’s been an instrumental part of building the publishing community on Twitter.
In response to her own desire to connect with others in the book industry, Jennifer created the Directory of Book Trade People on Twitter. Today, this veritable who’s who of the publishing Twitterati is the go-to resource for publishing professionals. She created a separate author directory, helping hundreds of authors take advantage of the power of Twitter to connect with their readers, build their personal brand, and keep current with industry news.
Read the entire entry …In Twitter Excitement, Don’t Rule Out Facebook
With all the love and attention being lavished on Twitter these days, it’s easy to forget about last year’s big story: Facebook. Sometimes, the rhetoric makes it sound like the entire world has abandoned Facebook, to which we reply, “Facebook is dead, long live Facebook!”
Twitter is a vibrant real-time conversation. The free-wheeling nature of Twitter has made talking online fun. I feel more connected to my daily news sources via Twitter than I do via their email newsletters. The multi-way conversation helps add context and nuance to information. I check Twitter before I check email.
Read the entire entry …Ghost Tweeting: You’re Doing It Wrong
A mini-scandal flared on Twitter yesterday. During the live-tweeting of a conference, word came that one book publisher was using ghost writers to tweet for their authors. Twitter being Twitter, there was the initial buzz and a second wave as others caught up with the news.
General consensus: someone is doing it all wrong!
While it’s critical that businesses — including authors and publishers — find a way to incorporate Twitter in their social strategy, faking it in a world where authenticity is prized is the wrong approach. The purpose of Twitter is to build community via conversation. The users of Twitter embrace the fact that it breaks down traditional social walls.
Read the entire entry …Is the Nielsen Study on Twitter’s Retention Rate Misleading?
Last week, the Twittersphere was talking about a recent Nielsen study of Twitter’s retention rate: approximately 40% of the people who join Twitter stick around and make full use of it*. Forty percent, by the way, isn’t such a bad number, but it’s keeping with anecdotal items we’ve heard and the experience we have with our own followers.
Many people join Twitter based on the hype, yet aren’t sure what to do next. The determined stick it out and learn through trial and error. Most people, however, find some basic guidance in the world of Twitter to be very welcome.
Read the entire entry …Retweets: Good or Bad?
This week has seen debate on, of all thing, the retweet. It turns out there are those in favor to of the action, those who oppose it, and those who think “Hey, why isn’t that part of the Twitter system?”. Let’s explore some of the good reasons (and bad reasons) for all perspectives.
First, the retweet (abbreviated RT) is not part of the official Twitter protocol. It is a social convention developed by Twitter users, and it’s become such an important part of the culture that most third party applications include buttons/controls to make it easy to retweet. At its most basic, retweeting is the simple act of forwarding someone else’s tweet, verbatim and with attribution, to your follower list.
Read the entire entry …Twitter, Celebrities, and the Quality of Your Followers
I am equally bemused by the celebrities flocking to Twitter and the backlash against those celebrities. On one hand, you get kudos and respect for Shaquille O’Neal, who uses both the Twitter website and a mobile app to post updates. On the other, you get the ridiculousness of Ashton Kutcher challenging CNN to a “first one to get a million followers” contest. And, of course, then Kutcher’s ante is upped by pseudo-celebrity Spencer Pratt.
Building your Twitter following is not a popularity contest, and these challenges serve more to make the celebrities look grasping and desperate (no really, begging people to follow is not Twitter cool). Of course, we have a reasonable sense that the group noted in the first paragraph are composing and posting their own tweets. Some are even engaging in a human way.
It’s the ones who can’t even be bothered to put together 140 characters that make me roll my eyes (and make me wonder why anyone would bother following them). If your tweets are an endless stream of self-promotion, you’ll lose followers quickly. There is a lot of talk about the value of followers, but it doesn’t necessarily compute that large numbers equal engaged audience. For your message to be meaningful, it must be heard.
I remind myself of this quite frequently. I have a respectable number of followers, but I also have a good sense that more than a few signed up for Twitter, started following a group of people, but haven’t been back since that first day. I appreciate that they added me to their list, but I think I’m more appreciative of those who participate, engage, ask questions, comment, or, ahem, indulge my love of shoe pictures (especially since I’m currently on a footware diet!).
Read the entire entry …