Building, and retaining an audience is vital for any author’s success, regardless of whether they are self-published or traditionally published.
And social media, especially an established Twitter account, is one of the best ways to engage with other authors and potential readers.
When it comes to sales, 54% of the 329 million Twitter users purchase new products, especially if they participate in a Twitter Space conversation about the product.
In order to create such an important post, we teamed up with Ruth L. Snyder, an author, writing coach, podcaster, and entrepreneur, who most recently released the book #LearnTwitterSpaces.
Before we get started on Twitter growth tactics, let’s first focus on building a killer profile that makes it clear to other users who you are and what you do.
Table of Contents
Free Universal Book Links
- Boost international sales by geotargeting readers
- Book store links update automatically based on availability
- Advanced marketing analytics
- Increase clicks with trusted links
Creating Your Twitter Profile
When you open a Twitter account, your profile will be basic with some placeholders provided by Twitter.
You need to update your profile as soon as possible to remove that “egghead” profile picture and let people know what you have to offer.
You can either access your Twitter account on a computer or your mobile phone.
The main elements of a Twitter profile are
- Profile Photo
- Bio
- Header Image
- Profile Link
- Pinned Tweet
We’ll now go into detail about each one of these profile sections, and what to put here.
What Makes a Good Twitter Profile Picture?
The first component of a successful author’s Twitter profile is a high-quality profile photo: Invest in some professional photographs to use on your book cover, your website, and social media sites like Twitter.
Due to the size limitations of Twitter’s profile picture, it can be no larger than 400×400 pixels.
It’s best if you use a headshot that clearly shows your face.
People tend to buy from those they know and trust. Showing your face helps build that trust.
Canva.com is a great place to create a headshot that stands out. Find examples on Canva or browse Twitter to find profile pictures that stand out.
Remove.bg removes the background and allows you to personalize your headshot. Sam Rafoss chose to highlight her photo by adding a black background.
Introducing:
Booklinker Collections
One landing page for all your books. 100% free.
One link for easy sharing of your books across your backmatter, websites, emails, and social media.
Creating a Twitter Header Image
Below is an example of KJ Waters header image. You can see she uses it as a place to establish more credibility, list her titles, and help work towards a sale.
Twitter header images serve as an additional promotional space. Be strategic with it. Think of this space as a free advertisement for your books, an event like a book launch or writing conference you’re speaking at, and/or your website.
You can change the header as often as you want.
Twitter gives you a size of 1500 x 500 pixels for this section, so make sure you keep text and other important elements away from the edges as the image gets cropped automatically on different devices people use.
Twitter users won’t see your header image unless they click on your profile. You can share an image of your latest book, highlight you and your tagline, or even let people know about an upcoming event like a Twitter Space.
Canva.com also has templates for Twitter headers you can personalize and use. If you would rather have someone else create a header for you, try Fiverr.
Writing a Good Bio
Next up, we have the Twitter bio.
You only have 166 characters to work with here, so be intentional, and inviting, and present a clear idea about who you are and what you have to offer.
Lovelli Fuad presented 11 author bios for you to consider and imitate.
Profile Links
Twitter gives its users one link to include in their profile in order to direct traffic. You can either provide a link directly to your website, or use a service like Linktree which provides one page for you to share your website, purchase links, and social media.
Include a Booklinker link when referencing online bookstores, so you have a single link that takes readers around the world to the appropriate store for them to purchase your books, and allows you to earn extra commissions.
Pinned Tweet
There’s one more promotional opportunity we haven’t spoken about yet, and that is the pinned Tweet section.
Your pinned tweet stays at the top of your profile. It will be the first Tweet people see upon viewing your profile.
Use it wisely as you promote yourself and your writing. (Hint: Use booklinker here too!)
This is not a place for a random viral tweet from 2017 to go.
This area gets tons of impressions and is the perfect place to advertise your book launch, a Twitter Space, or one of your own quotes.
Now that your profile is made, it’s time to learn how to use and grow a Twitter profile.
Twitter Content and Features
Twitter works best when you see it as building a relationship—a two-way street where you listen and share, like a conversation.
You’re able to share plain text, links, photos, GIFs, and videos up to two minutes long. (NOTE: Twitter now allows you to share photos, GIFs, and videos all in ONE tweet!)
As authors, we need to connect with our readers.
We can ask questions, share helpful information and links, teach something, share book reviews of satisfied readers, give away samples, and share inspirational quotes (both from our own books as well as others).
We’ll cover some of the main features of Twitter and how they should be used in the next sections.
Tweets and Retweets
A tweet is simply a post you create and share on Twitter. All of your tweets will appear in chronological order, from newest to oldest, on your Twitter profile, after your Pinned Tweet.
Commenting, or replying, allows you to respond to someone else’s tweet and engage in conversation with other Twitters users.
Retweeting causes a tweet to appear on your Twitter feed again, making it more likely for people to see the information. You can retweet other users’ Tweets, or you’re own.
Other Twitter accounts will greatly appreciate you retweeting their content, especially if you have a large following, in order to increase the Tweets reach.
They may even return the favor with a Retweet in the future!
Liking (by clicking on the heart icon) a Tweet lets people know you appreciate a tweet. This is used by the Twitter algorithm to “rank” or “score” a Tweet, potentially increasing its reach. All of a user’s liked Tweets will appear under their profile under the likes tab.
Sharing helps other people see a tweet. You can share in a DM (direct message), by using a bookmark, or by copying the link and including it in your tweet.
Following and Followers
Following, and Followers, are one of the most fundamental aspects of Twitter and are a pretty good way to measure how your account is doing.
Followers are people who choose to follow you. They are much more likely to see your content on their feed.
Following other people is one of the best ways to grow your Twitter account. However, you do not need to follow everyone who follows you. Your timeline will include tweets shared by people you are following.
Authors should follow people who may be interested in reading their books.
Use the search feature to find other authors who write in similar genres. Follow some of their followers who comment about reading their books.
You may also find it helpful to follow publishers, agents, and others who will help you on your writing journey.
Hashtags
A hashtag is a pound sign (#) followed by any word(s) and is used to categorize tweets. If you click on any hashtag, all the tweets using that hashtag will show up.
Use hashtags to find helpful information (#askagent), connect with readers (#reader), share what you’re writing (#amwriting), let people know you’re an author, and connect with other authors (#author, #WritingCommunity).
You can include hashtags anywhere in your tweet, but often they are added at the end.
Check out the hashtags other authors in your genre are using, try them, and see which ones are most effective for your audience.
Social Audio
Social audio is like Zoom without video.
There are many different social audio apps available including Clubhouse, Wisdom, Fireside, Spotify, and Twitter Spaces.
These apps equip you to connect with people all over the world in real time, have discussions, and build a community that trusts and buys from you.
Twitter Spaces is unique in that it is part of the Twitter app. (All the other social audio sites are standalone apps.)
By using Twitter Spaces I have increased my followers by 40% and have made connections that are opening new opportunities for me.
In September two author conferences had me present workshops about social audio where I made more money from my books than I did from the speaking fee.
There are many ways authors can use Twitter Spaces. Here are some ideas you may want to try:
- Interview other authors who write in your genre, and collaborate on a collective boxed set.
- Host a weekly space where you discuss your journey of writing and publication.
- Have a virtual book launch on Twitter Spaces
- Gather readers who want to participate in a virtual book study every week
- Host a writing critique or accountability group
- Teach the craft of writing
Your creativity is the only limit to what you could do with Twitter Spaces.
Twitter Spaces gives you access to a much larger audience for some of these activities than you could have at an in-person event, and the planning is minimal.
Who’s Doing it Right?
Imitating experts is often the best way to learn something. Here are some authors I recommend you follow and imitate on Twitter.
They will help you learn how to build your audience and sell books.
Just remember that book marketing is more like a marathon than a sprint. Consistent effort over time will yield the best results.
Rachel Thompson
Rachel @RachelintheOC is an American author, survivor, and business owner who has used Twitter to grow her community and sell her memoirs and books about branding and book marketing. Notice that Rachel has been on Twitter since March 2009.
She has an attention-grabbing profile picture as well as an informative header picture.
She also offers a newsletter that helps build her email list. Rachel serves other authors with her weekly Twitter Spaces.
Kevin McLeod
Kevin @bannon1975 is a Scottish author who joined Twitter in January 2010.
His headshot clearly shows his face and is inviting.
The header picture raises curiosity about the fantasy stories he writes.
Kevin uses universal links that take people from different countries to the correct Amazon store to purchase his books.
When you scroll through his timeline, you’ll see that he interacts consistently with his audience and thanks them for their participation.
He also makes great use of visuals to capture interest.
Lilac Mills
Lilac @LilacMills is a romance and women’s fiction author from the UK. She joined Twitter in April 2016.
She has chosen to use her logo as her profile picture and features her latest book in her header picture.
Lilac also offers a newsletter to help grow her email audience, uses universal links, offers free books, and sells merchandise like clothing to grow her fan base.
Introducing:
Booklinker Collections
One landing page for all your books. 100% free.
One link for easy sharing of your books across your backmatter, websites, emails, and social media.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I use Twitter effectively without wasting my writing time?
I suggest setting a certain amount of time aside for Twitter each day. My recommendation is 5-10 minutes up to three times a day.
Set a timer and stop when it rings. Twitter allows you to schedule your tweets.
I find writing my tweets ahead of time (in a Word or Google document) helps because then I can schedule most of my tweets for the week in about 30 minutes.
Spend time each day replying to other people’s tweets, sharing other people’s content, and sharing your own valuable content.
Twitter offers many tools. Try one at a time and see what works for you and your audience.
How do I know which tweets are most effective?
Twitter provides detailed analytics for each tweet.
If you click on the bar graph icon on the far right at the bottom of a tweet, you will see how many impressions, engagements, detail expands, new followers, profile visits, and link clicks the tweet provided.
Try different types of tweets and content and then let the analytics guide you in deciding future content.
How Often Should I Tweet?
There is a wide range of answers to this question. Some people say you should not tweet more than a particular number of times per day.
Others say you can never tweet too much.
However, all marketers agree you should focus on quality over quantity and you must provide a variety of content.
No one likes a person who only focuses on themselves.
It’s the same on Twitter.
Aim to only share one tweet about your book out of every five to ten tweets.
Is Twitter Good For Authors?
Twitter is one of the best social media tools for authors to use, given the enormous community of writers it fosters, and the recent popularity of Twitter Spaces.
If Twitter is used correctly, it can be an incredible tool for building a following and generating organic book sales.
How do Writers Grow on Twitter?
The main way writers grow on Twitter is by putting out engaging, interesting content.
Tweeting about trending topics, or using popular hashtags is essential as well.
Don’t be afraid to engage and follow as many like-minded authors and readers as you can find.
What is the Best Social Media for Authors?
There isn’t exactly a “best” social media for authors as every social media platform has its strengths and weaknesses.
Ideally, authors build out a following on as many platforms as possible, such as Instagram and Tiktok.
Conclusion
As you can see, Twitter and Twitter Spaces are powerful tools for authors when used consistently and strategically. Make sure your profile is professional and inviting.
Be prepared to put in work for several months, inviting people to your community, before you expect results.
Imitate other authors in your genre who are getting the types of results you want to see.
Experiment, have fun, and share a variety of content, paying attention to analytics, and adjusting accordingly.
Introducing:
Booklinker Collections
One landing page for all your books. 100% free.
One link for easy sharing of your books across your backmatter, websites, emails, and social media.
