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Twitter Etiquette for Authors – How not to be Obnoxious

July 23rd, 2013 by

Social media plays a huge roll in building an author’s platform, marketing, and author branding. One of our favorite social media platforms is Twitter.

Twitter is a great tool for authors but it can be just as much of a hindrance if used incorrectly. Here are some tips on how you can best use Twitter and avoid being one of those obnoxious Twitter spammers.

BiblioCrunch Twitter

Do:

  • Engage with others! Twitter is SOCIAL media so be social!
  • Reply to all tweets that come to you. If someone takes the time to personally message you take the time to reply back.
  • Read the Twitter Rules (yes, Twitter has rules!)
  • Read over Twitter’s help section. This section has the how-to advice for everything Twitter.
  • Be real. Tweet about what matters to you, not what you think you have to tweet about.
  • Join Twitter chats like #indiechat to make new connections and engage with author communities.
  • Follow people who are interested in the same topics. If you are interested in publishing follow readers, authors, editors, marketers, etc. We’ve curated a list called self-publishing if you want to start somewhere.
  • Mix up your tweets! Mix personal, promotional, informational, and other people’s tweets (RTs) to keep things interesting.
  • Share awards your book has won, author events, and new releases with your followers. (But remember balance!)

Do Not:

  • Do not spam. This means do NOT keep sending out the same tweet or link. Everything in moderation.
  • Don’t use TrueTwit validation, you will annoy lots of people if you have this ‘service’.
  • Do not use any other form of auto-DM or auto-follow back service. Everyone can tell it is fake.
  • Do not protect your tweets. This defeats the purpose of Twitter especially if you are trying to build your author platform.
  • Do not always sell your products or talk about yourself. Only one out of every four tweets you put out should be related to you (or less!).

Helpful links:

Have Twitter tips of your own? Follow a blog with great Twitter tips? Let us know below in the comments!

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Kate Tilton is the marketing associate for BiblioCrunch, an author assistant, and a book blogger.
Kate is also a proud host of #indiechat, Tuesdays at 9pm EST, and #K8chat, Thursdays at 9pm EST.

You can connect with her on her website, Twitter, or BiblioCrunch.

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