Marketing Tips: Have fun with Twitter by Stephanie Burkhart

Social networking can be a challenge for many who are just starting out in the writing world. Social networking is a necessary tool that the author can use to promote their book. I thought I'd take a look at how you can maximize your time on Twitter. Twitter is a forum that allows for a "tweet" of approx 120 characters so you have to keep your "tweet" short.

The Pros of Twitter:
It's cheap (i.e. free)
It's fun (once you get the hang of it)

The Cons of Twitter:
It is intimidating
It is confusing

At some point, you have to get your feet wet and join. Whatever your role in the writing world – author, illustrator, marketing, etc., these tips can prove very helpful.

For me, the main goal of Twitter is to increase my followers. The more followers you have, the more people you reach out to.

Goal stated, let's get into the tips:

Tip #1 – You don't want to spend more than 10-15 mins on Twitter at any given time. Trust me. You have other things to do and social networking should not consume your day. Make it a point to check your Tweets 10-15 mins a day. The "optimum" goal should be once in the morning, and once at night, but if you can't do twice a day, strive to be on Twitter at least once a day.

#2 – Friend 5 people a day
I use the recommendations on the side, but I also follow my favorites which include Anne Rice, The New England Patriots, other 911 dispatchers, and even Chum Lee from Pawn Stars.

#3 – Retweet 5 posts a day
(this shows others you are supportive by retweeting their posts. In turn, fellow tweeters are generally inclined to retweet your posts)

#4 – Tweet 5 posts a day
These can be anything. For example:
Quotes from your favorite writers or authors. I like to quote HG Wells, Emily Dickinson and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Share YouTube links – this can be your book trailers or some of your favorite videos on you tube.
Amazon links to your books. If your book is on sale, mention it.
Places were you want fans to follow you like Good Reads, LinkedIn, Writing.com, etc.
Links to reviews for your books.
Links to book reviews you've done.
Announcements for what's on your blog.
Announcement if you're visiting someone else's blog.
Announcements on any contests or giveaway you're doing.
Gush and give shout outs to your favorites: movies, authors, books, music, etc. I usually give a shout out to coffee and chocolate during the week. It's okay to be a little cheeky and show off your personality. Readers like to see a little bit of your fun side.



You may not feel an immediate effect, but you'll see difference by the end of the week and even a bigger difference by the end of the month. Remember, it's all about growing your followers.

Tip #5 - #hashtags
These are "quick" tags that highlight popular posts. If you post "Check out my book on Kindle" (with the link) use #kindle at the end of the post. If other people are on twitter and check out the popular posts highlighted on the side, they should pull up a majority of post with the hashtags. If you have your post marked with a hashtag, it should, in theory, pull up.

Tip #6 - @ sign

If you talk about someone, let them know. They'll appreciate it and usually reciprocate. For example. Me: Just finished reading @StephBurkhart's book. Two thumbs up.

If anyone has any other tips, please feel free to share.
Go out there and tweet. And have fun with it.

PS: Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

Short Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 Dispatcher for LAPD. Her children's book, "The Giving Meadow" was published with 4RV Publishing. She's a native of New Hampshire but now lives in California with her husband, 9 year old son, Andrew, and 5 year old son, Joe. Joe likes the following 4RV Books: Colors and Spider in Our Mailbox.

Focused Keywords and Your Content

Most of us think of keywords as something a marketer or affiliate marketer needs to be aware of. It’s their area of business and their problem to find these mysterious words that help increase the ranking on search engines. But, that’s not really the case.

Today, if you are promoting yourself and/or your book, service, business, or product, you need readers to know several things:

•    Who you are
•    Where you are
•    What you have to offer
•    Why what you’re offering is what they need
•    Why you’re qualified to be offering this product/service

Yes, there are a lot of requirements that need to be met in order to be successful in this ever expanding and competitive internet arena.

One of the basic strategies used to get noticed is writing or providing content. I’m sure you’ve read or heard a hundred times that “content is king.” It is absolutely true. Imagine being a spec in the sky . . . so tiny and far away that you are invisible to the human eye. Well, that’s you in the internet universe. So, how do you get a flickering light going and build it into a steady strong beam?

Valuable Content and Keywords

The only way to get on the internet radar is to create valuable content, provide it regularly, and make sure it is keyword rich. As I mentioned, content is essential, without it you do not have a chance. But, even with it, you need to fine tune your ‘must read information’ with keywords.

Don’t fret though, it’s not that difficult to do. Most of it is common sense.  I’m not one to search for keywords for every article I write, instead I think of what query words I would use to find a topic. While using a keyword tool would afford a much larger pond to fish from, I’m not a marketer, I’m a writer. If I don’t have the time to do a keyword search I don’t go crazy.

For this article I did take the time and plugged in the word “keywords” at freekeywords.wordtraker.com (a free tool). The number one phrase for this keyword is “keyword research,” number two is “keyword analysis,” and number three is “keyword.” I really didn’t have to do a search to realize the word “keyword” would be there, I didn’t know, however, that “research” would be part of the number one phrase. Knowing the number one keyword phrase provides valuable information; this also means it is a highly competitive keyword.

The Long Tail Keywords

To make your keyword rich content even more effective look for what’s called long tail keywords. These are words that will move you away from the general querying crowd—and the heavy competition.

For example, if your niche is children’s writing your key words would be: writing, children’s writing, and possibly children’s fiction and/or children’s nonfiction.

To elaborate on these keywords—to get more specific and narrow your target audience—you might use: writing for kids, children’s fantasy chapter books, picture books, middle grade fiction books, or kids’ nonfiction magazine articles. You get the idea; you need to focus in on your niche. Instead of aiming at the outer rim of a bull’s eye, go dead center.

To get started try these free keyword search tools:

http://wordstream.com/keywords/
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/

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Until next time,

Karen Cioffi
Author, Ghostwriter, Freelance writer, and
Editor for 4RV Publishing
Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing



Member of the Professional Writers Alliance, the International Association of Professional Ghostwriters, and the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors.