Today’s post is written by regular contributor Susan Bearman.
In addition to being a writer myself, I help other writers define and establish their online presence. The three questions I’m asked most often are:
- Do I really need a website?
- Do I really need a Facebook page?
- Do I really need to be on Twitter?
It’s the “really” in those questions that gives away the answers. Yes, you do, and you knew that already. But … and this is a big but … if you’re not going to do it well, don’t do it at all.
Setting up a Facebook Page or Twitter account, then failing to post regularly is even worse than being conspicuously absent. It sends the message that you either don’t know what you’re doing or that you don’t care.
The same is true with a blog. You certainly don’t have to post every day, but you do have to post regularly to attract regular readers, and you do have to have something to say.
Why You Need a Web Presence
Really? You’re here, on a website, asking why you need a web presence. You already know the answer to this question, too.
The Internet is the Yellow Pages, encyclopedia, billboard, road atlas, newspaper, PR agent, catalog, shopping center, and reference librarian all rolled into one, multiplied by infinity and available on every tablet, hand-held and desktop device worldwide.
If you aren’t on the web, well, then you simply aren’t.
But It’s All So Overwhelming
Yes, but it doesn’t have to be. Most things on the web are pretty accessible if you park your technophobia down the block and spend a little time strolling around the social networking neighborhood. If you don’t understand how to do something, wander over to YouTube and you can find a video explaining how to do just about anything.
You can also break into social networking at your own pace, in manageable chunks. No one says you have to start your website, Facebook page, and Twitter account all on the same day. Take some time to explore. Stop telling yourself that all this social media stuff is a waste of time and figure out how to use it to your best advantage.
Because here’s the thing: if you want people to read your writing, they have to know it exists. Unless you’re some phe-nom literary prodigy, no one is going to market you better than you can market yourself.
The First Word in Social Networking is “Social”
You’re a writer, not an infomercial. Online social networking, just like in-person networking, can be an effective marketing tool, but you have to use it with finesse. You have to give as good as you get. Sell, sell, sell does not sit well on the Internet. It’s all about the added value. What can you bring to the table that will make other people interested in you? There are any number of ways to attract followers and readers:
- Be a good curator of interesting material that’s relevant to your readers. Don’t just retweet. Do a little homework and inject your opinion or point to the meat of your link.
- Share your own special knowledge or expertise. This can be particularly effective for nonfiction writers, but many authors of fiction have done extensive research along the way. Share your secret tools, methodologies, mistakes, and best finds.
- Interview fascinating people or experts in their field.
Define Yourself
As they say, there’s nothing new under the sun. Just as you have to find a hook in your writing, you have to discover your personal hook in social networking societies. Maybe you write top notch reviews. Maybe you’re a trend spotter. It’s OK—in fact, it’s great—if you can develop an online persona that’s just a little better and more interesting than maybe you are in real life.
Present yourself consistently across all platforms. Use a good head shot or create an interesting avatar (square is preferable) that will help people identify you. Try to set a specific tone and stick with it. Just as in your writing, you need to find your social networking voice.
Edit Yourself
This is the time to listen to your inner critic. Don’t fall into the trap of using the Internet as your own personal mind dump. You want even your <140-character Twitter posts to convey that you are a skilled writer.
Shorter is almost always better. If your blog post is 600 words, cut it down to 400. Play with your Twitter posts. Make them into a writing challenge. Can you express something meaningful and interesting in <140 characters without losing your integrity as a writer?
Don’t badmouth anybody. My mother used to say, if you have something negative to say, do it in person, not in writing. Writing lasts forever. This is especially true of the Internet. It never goes away. It is never completely private, no matter what the privacy policy says. Use discretion, good manners, and common sense.
Be Generous
Don’t plagiarize—give credit where credit is due. Wherever possible, provide a link and a name. Promote other writers as you would want them to promote you. Say thank you.
Facebook Profile vs. Facebook Page
I get this question a lot: what’s the difference between a Facebook profile and a Facebook page. Think of your Facebook profile as an invitation-only party. You should know all your “friends” personally. If you don’t care what their kid or dog did this morning, you probably don’t want to be Facebook “friends” with them.
Think of your Facebook Page as a conference. It’s a public place. People don’t need an invitation to “Like” you. Friends, acquaintances, colleagues, fans, even strangers, are all welcome.
Having a Facebook page is vital for drawing the line between your personal online self and your professional online self. If you were to suddenly become the next J.K. Rowling with thousands of people Googling your name every day, you would want them to find you on Facebook and connect with your work. You don’t want them to have access to the personal information you share with your real-life friends.
Watch what you post and where you post it. You may decide that some things are worth posting to both your personal and professional Facebook timelines, but don’t overdo it. Keep your personal profile personal and your professional page professional. You are allowed only one personal Facebook profile, but you may have as many pages as you like. Some writers have a single author page; others have a page for each of their books.
Tools that Can Help
Many people ask “But when will I have time to write?” It’s easy to get sucked into social networking, so it’s important to outline your goals and set your boundaries. Some people set aside certain times of day (or the week) for social networking. Others use a variety of tools to schedule their postings. Hootsuite and Tweetdeck are just two of the tools that can help. Both act as kind of dashboard where you can manage multiple social networking accounts all at one time. In addition, Twitter and Facebook have apps that can let you post from one to the other, or both.
Most blog hosts allow you to write posts in advance, then schedule them for a later time or date. For example, I do a Wordless Wednesday post for my husband’s pet store blog with pictures of people and their new pets. It’s a big hit with readers and I can do most of the work in advance. My husband sends me three or four images a week; I write up a brief description and schedule the picture/posts for the next three or four Wednesdays in a row.
Develop a Strategy
If you have a blog, but not many followers, seek out other blogs and leave relevant comments. If you find a blog that is a particularly good fit for your area of expertise, offer to write a guest post. Many bloggers welcome new content and are happy to provide a short bio with a link back to your site.
Spend some time visiting the different social networking sites and see which ones best suit your personality and technical skills. If Twitter doesn’t appeal, check out GoodReads. This is a terrific place for writers to interact with readers. You can find and write reviews, start an online book club, or set up your own author page and blog so readers can find you.
Pinterest is the place for the visually oriented. Quora is all about the questions. There are new sites popping up every day. Don’t attempt to become a full-time user of all of them, or you really won’t get any writing (or anything else done). But don’t run screaming back into the dark ages, either. Make the investment in yourself and your career to keep at least reasonably well versed on the social networking scene.
If you can’t find the help you need online, look to your local writers’ group for resources. Subscribe to industry publications that include marketing tips. Take a class at a conference, workshop, or community college. And take a little time to run around the Internet playground. It’s fun.
Totally agree about the Social from Social Media. I’ve been discussing this myself recently.
People are scared about creating a Platform, but they really shouldn’t be. It’s just another part of their writing process. They make the rules and they hold the power.
Nice tips by the way 🙂
Matthew (Turndog Millionaire)
Matthew — I like that point of view, that by creating your own platform you hold the power. Thanks.
I agree with this post enitrely…save for one thing. I don’t necessarily think anyone has to take a course or join a newsletter to learn this sort of stuff. The people who write those things have being doing it for so long, they often may not remember how they became good at marketing. My suggestion–and how I did it–was just to jump in. Learning in practice works better as your mind remembers the lessons easier.
But anyway! I just wanted to say that it was a great post. Especially the bit about only using platforms if you can and will use them. I don’t use facebook for that reason. I know the Emerging Writers’ Festival in Melbourne, Australia says on their website their prefered social platform is twitter. It is VERY much okay to not use them all. =)
Ellen—I’m like you. I learn by jumping in a doing. But others learn better with tutorials or instructors where they can ask question. There are resources out there to learn how to do this well, it’s just a matter of finding what works best for you. I suppose it’s OK not to use any social networking at all, but I think for most middle of the road writers, staying out of the social networking scene is a missed opportunity. Thanks for your comments.
A nice comprehensive tutorial! I do one thing differently, however – I decided not to have an “official author page” on Facebook. Maybe one day I’ll need to, but the merging of my author life and “regular old life” seems to work pretty well (she says with hope *:-D*)
Always enjoy reading your posts in my email even if I can’t always come by!
Kathryn, thanks for you comments. One thought about a professional FB page versus a personal one is that it can be a helpful threshold if you touch a nerve. There are lots of haters out there and plenty of them love to use the Internet as a weapon. Giving that access only to your professional page is a way to protect yourself and your other Facebook friends from unwanted vitriol. Again, it’s a matter of personal choice, but I believe if you are trying to create a professional presence on the web, a Facebook Page is a worthwhile effort.
This post helped me a lot. I think I’m about to start a website…..
Emily, let us know when you are up and running. Good luck.
Enjoyed reading this. Great tips. Thanks Susannah and Susan!
You are welcome!
These are great reminders-to take ourselves seriously enough to not only embrace the technology that has changed the way information is disseminated, received, and expected–but also to realize that not doing so will likely leave us wishing, later, that we had.
Being technically challenged, or even reticent, keeps many from jumping in. I saw two would-be photographers recently who joined a photography group (via Meet-up), then promptly out out a notice that they were willing to pay someone to come get them started with their new computers and software. In mere moments they had a seasoned photographer, known to the other group members (safe) scheduled for their technology session.
An aversion to social media may hinder some, but your advice to keep separate pages for personal and professional might be just the right choice.
Thanks for taking the time to educate and encourage us in our brave new world of links, Tweets and status updates.
Britton, reaching out to your group is a great way to get up and running. I often consult with writers in my network and help them figure out how to build their platform. Thanks for commenting.
“put out” versus “out out”–Edit Britt, edit!
Good post, especially the part about not using a platform if you aren’t likely to use it regularly. I’m taking down my completely neglected Facebook profile now! I think though that for many people the problem isn’t really technical since most interfaces are designed to be very user friendly. It’s time. The fact is, although it’s necessary, social media can be a true time sucker. If you are using the Web to build a business you have to be very focused on your goals and work with social media accordingly.
CJ—Time is always the enemy. You’re completely right about setting goals and staying focused on them. Learning to use the social media tools effectively to meet those goals does take an investment in time, but it’s worth it when you have figured out what works best for you. Thanks.
Thanks for the helpful tips, I have the hardest time with Twitter. I am not a tweety person I guess, but I always retweet an article I have found useful or interesting. It seems a bit confusing at first but it gets fun once you know what you are doing. And if a techno-phobe like me can do it, anyone can. A few years ago I had no idea about any of this and my teenage daughter would literally bang her head on the wall trying to teach me.
Khaula—I was slow to warm up to Twitter, too, but I really do like it. I’m much more able to stay focused on Twitter than other social media. Finding a patient teenager (or is that an oxymoron?) can be a great way to get over the learning hump. These kids were born into this world.
This is a fantastic overview of social media for newbies. Will RT and save. One thing–It’s true that guest posting is a great way to get the exposure you need for a new blog. But don’t start by asking to guest on a super-popular blog (like this one) or you’ll be disappointed. Look for blogs with a few hundred followers, preferably one where they post about a topic where you have some expertise. Don’t just say “I’m a writer. Give me a topic and I’ll guest blog.” We’re all writers on this bus. 😉
Anne—that’s an excellent point about choosing the right blog. You need to pitch your guest post idea professionally, just as you would a magazine article or a book proposal. Suzannah actually ran a contest for guest posters on this blog. That’s how I came to be here. Thanks for your input.
Susan, you have written a wealth of information with your post. You motivated me to create a professional Facebook page in addition to my personal one. I am having difficulty with the logistics but am determined to succeed with that.
I like The WAE Network at http://www.waenetwork.com and its companion site, Book Publishing Wizard at http://www.bpwiz.biz.
Good luck with your Facebook Page, Barbara. Facebook likes to make things trickier than they need to be, but it’s not that hard once you get used to it, especially if you have some familiarity with a personal Facebook profile.
Thanks, Susan, for your comments and suggestions. I still grapple with the whole Facebook phenomenon. Didn’t use it at all for years; then suddenly got active on personal profile and business page. Getting the hang of it, except not very skilled at directing posts. I just put them up there!!! I’ll be back again.
Sarah—Good luck and keep at it. It doesn’t take long to get the feel of it. The challenge is finding the right balance of your time and energies.
Susan, I’ve been hemming and hawing over whether or not to start a new Facebook page now that my old blog is gone. I’m still not sure, but I’m glad I remembered this article (I pinned it when you first posted so I’d remember to come back and read). Even though I spend plenty of energy bruising my knees on the internet playground, you have some good reminders in here. Thanks!
You’re welcome!
Oh hey, before I go, I have a question for you. How do you feel about pingbacks on blog comments? I’m never really sure what to do with them or if/how they benefit the blog.
Pingbacks are really just meant to let you know when someone else links to your post on blog or website. I think it’s a good idea to track those reference. If you get a lot of comments and pingbacks, you may want to do a little site manipulation to separate them. Here’s a good tutorial. http://digwp.com/2010/02/separate-comments-pingbacks-trackbacks/
I hope that answers your question. Thanks.
Thanks for a great article Susan. Creating a platform can be just as overwhelming a step as deciding to write a book, but I find it has similar rewards. Once you’ve got a decent schedule planned, it can become very fun – I love blogging, and finding useful posts for my Twitter followers to take a look at, this one included. 🙂