By Amy Collins
A slightly different take on DTNT this month… Please, authors, if you are on social media or TRYING to get on social media, read this month’s edition of DO THIS NOT THAT.
What I Did
I unfollowed and deleted a romance author from all of my social media platforms.
Why I Did It
This author is a terrific lady whom I have spent time with on the phone and in person. Her genre (historical romance) is one of my favorites. I like her characters, I have read her books in the past, and I like her personally. SO WHY would I unfollow her everywhere?
What She Did
This charming and talented author posted several times a day about her book. Relentless, constant posts about her book, and nothing else. Her posts were teasers about her next book, excerpts and character dialog lines. The posts were clever, but overwhelming. After a few weeks, I could not take any more. I felt beaten about the head and shoulders with her promotion of her books.
How I Felt
I felt terrible and guilty, but I was seeing 5-6 posts a day about this one book and it was too much. I started to feel annoyed and quit while I was ahead.
How Would YOU Have Felt?
Be honest… how do you feel when you are being “sold” relentlessly?
What She Should Have Done Instead
She should have varied her type of posts and mixed the approaches with the promo posts. Let me set you a sample schedule:
Monday
- Share an article about a romance-comedy movie that is releasing soon.
- Share a blog that reviews a best-selling romance author.
- Post a picture of her dog, cat, kid, garden. SOMETHING personal.
- Share a fun meme poking fun at romance novel covers.
Tuesday
- Retweet tweet posted by best-selling romance author.
- Pose a question to followers like: “How many hours a week do you spend reading?”
- Post a rave line from a reviewer of HER book.
Wednesday
- Thank folks who answered question and give the results/answers.
- Google US standard reading habits and post article about average reading habits.
- Post a link to an interview about HER book.
- Post a funny complaint about her husband or kids. (NOTHING SERIOUS… lighthearted)
Thursday
- Another funny meme that is connected in theme to her book topic.
- Post an article about authors who write romance.
- Post a visual picture advertising a line from the book and the cover.
Friday
- Support another author by posting an interview or review of THEIR book.
- Ask another question such as “What are your pet peeves in novels?”
- Tell folks what she plans on doing that weekend.
Saturday
- Send an Amazon link to her book quoting a recent Amazon 5 star review.
What She Should Do Now
I would be thrilled to reconnect online if her social media outreach was not so self-centered and self-focused. The most popular people at a party are those who entertain and make people feel good. Those at the party who only talk about themselves are branded bores and people tend to wander away from them. They are rarely invited to more parties. The same is true in social media.
What I Recommend to ALL Of Us
We need to remember that social media exists to entertain and educate. If we are only blarting about our books, we are neither entertaining nor educational. We are boring. REALLY boring. I would ask that we all work on scheduling and balancing our online persona and outreach. It is NOT insincere to plan our social media posts… it is actually quite respectful to our followers when we put some thought into what would make THEIR time on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms.
I would love to connect with you on Social Media, PLEASE find me on Twitter at @newshelvesbooks and on Facebook at AmyCollinsNewShelves. I am also on Instagram at NewShelves. I would love to follow you and see how your posts are unfolding!
Photo: Bigstockphoto
