31 Ways to Build A Powerful Twitter Network for Better Book Promotion

by | Nov 20, 2018 | Social Media for Authors

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Of all of the social media channels I personally use, Twitter is hands down my favorite for book promotion. It’s also the most pervasive. We literally see Twitter everywhere. Personally, I like it because it’s versatile, and a great networking & connection tool. Often better than Facebook or Instagram. Twitter also isn’t specifically good for one book genre or another. It’s good for all of them!

When it comes to book promotion, much of what works on Twitter has to do with the strong networking element, which authors often overlook. Twitter is a great way to meet people, develop relationships, and promote yourself and your book or business. And, if you’d like to explore ideas for the audiences you need to connect with as well as what topics you can speak to, please contact me to set up some coaching!

Let’s have a look at some of the ways you can build your Twitter presence and grow a strong network from the ground up!

  1. Teach a little mini-lesson on Twitter. Delve into your area of expertise and share some great, helpful tips. It’s an easy way to dive head-long into book promotion and build your street cred as an expert.
  2. Share sites or blogs that your followers would be interested in. Be their “filter” to new and exciting information.
  3. Check trending hashtags and see what you can tie your content and expertise to. Then carry these tie-ins over to your overall book promotion. For example, with the recent Florida recount, I had a great (but old) blog post about a similar situation from 2000. The content was evergreen and therefore still relevant, so we shared it again, using that trending hashtag.
  4. Use Twitter as a news source: you can easily announce news both from your world (as long as it relates to your topic) and from the world of your expertise. So for example I’ve tweeted about book industry updates, book promotion tips, breaking news, etc.
  5. Widen your network by following new people on Twitter, this will not only give you some ideas for your own “tweets” but it’s a great way to network with other writers or professionals. If you’re interested in finding more book-specific experts to follow, check out this list.  It’s a full list of awesome book promotion and publishing professionals!
  6. Offer advice. Be sure to follow any specific hashtags related to your industry. After all, it’s a great way to not only network, but maybe share some tips and advice to drive more attention to your brand and your book. This also is a great way to build relationships.
  7. If you’re on tour with your book or doing an event, tweet about it and invite your local followers to attend! Be sure to use a relevant, local hashtag. For example, any San Diego related news falls under the #sandiego hashtag. Your town or city probably has one, too!
  8. Tweet any good reviews your book gets, it’s always fun to share book promotion wins! Make sure to tag any associated blogger, reviewer, media, or media outlet in your Tweet, whenever possible.
  9. Check out our monthly calendar observances here to help generate some timely ideas.
  10. Follow people in your network. Don’t expect your followers to grow if you’re not actively adding to the folks you follow as well.
  11. Personal is ok. Even though I said not to post useless information it’s still not a bad idea to (from time to time) post a personal Tweet or two. And of course, if you’re connecting with influencers, it’s important to personalize your outreach. (See #13 below)
  12. Network with attendees ahead of conferences you’re going to or events you’re attending. Often conferences and writing or industry related events have a corresponding hashtag, start following it and getting to know others who are attending.
  13. Networking with speakers ahead of an event. So same idea as above, only this time you’re specifically targeting speakers. So networking with them, even a brief “Looking forward to your session!” Could be a great way to break the ice if you’re interested in speaking to this person at the event! If connecting with that speaker will help you with your book promotion, this is a great opportunity to do so! (Read about it here.)
  14. On Fridays, recommend your favorite tweeters by using the #followfriday hashtag along with their user names. It’s best to say why you recommend them.
  15. Don’t be afraid to have fun with Twitter, too. If you check out the trending hashtags, you’ll often see fun “Twitter games” you can participate in. A recent one that comes to mind is #sixwordstory. While these fun hashtags won’t help with your book promotion per se, it’s a fun way to connect with other Twitter peeps.
  16. It’s ok to repeat your tweets. With the volume of messages people see in their newsfeed, your followers will often miss some of your posts.
  17. Share your blog posts on Twitter and be sure to use any related hashtags when you do!
  18. Join Help a Reporter out @helpareporter for tweets on media leads. If you haven’t started using this in your book promotion you should (it’s a great service!).
  19. Don’t feel like you have to respond to every tweet, but I generally try to respond to all tweets that are replies to mine (you can find these under @replies on your Twitter home page).
  20. Want to stay on top of your market and find stuff to Tweet about? Then go to Alltop.com and search for your category. There are thousands of them up there. Here are a few to consider: socialmedia.alltop.com, twitter.alltop.com and publishing.alltop.com. It’s a fabulous service to incorporate into your book promotion efforts.
  21. Review a product or book on Twitter. Pro tip: be sure to use hashtags like #bookreview or #productreview and tag the author or company making the product!
  22. Follow big names in your market on Twitter. This can sometimes bring in their followers too and you want to see what the “big guys” are up to.
  23. RT someone else’s posts, it’s a great way to network!
  24. Thank someone for RTing (retweeting) your Twitter update or sharing your content, it’s always great to acknowledge someone for doing that! And it helps to share the book promotion love a bit more!
  25. Comment on someone else’s Twitter update with thoughtful language that invites a response.
  26. Send congratulations to others when they share good news.
  27. Ask for advice or ask questions that encourage responses.
  28. Comment on someone’s interesting Twitter background or clever bio. It shows you’re paying attention.
  29. Talk about your writing or what you’re doing in your business.
  30. Post an inspirational quote or message.
  31. Welcome new followers with a personal note.

While you don’t have to do ALL of these things, I do recommend putting as many into play as possible while building your Twitter strategy and network. After all, a strong Twitter network can help you power up your book promotion when it comes time to really start marketing your book.

What Twitter strategies have you found beneficial. Please share in the comments, and be sure to link your Twitter handle. Mine is @bookgal.

Did you find this list helpful? Please help me by sharing it with your own network – I’ve packaged up these tweets for you below!

Click to Tweet: Tweet your way to better book promotion with these 31 must-read tips for building your Twitter network from @bookgal #bookpromotion #twittersmarter https://wp.me/p6TMt8-6Rk

Click to Tweet: These 31 next level Twitter strategies from @bookgal will kick your book marketing and exposure into high gear. #bookmarketing #twittersmarter https://wp.me/p6TMt8-6Rk

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