Writers Need Social Media… and Social Media Needs Writers

I’m struck by 2 posts today that I need to share with anyone who has not “got” social media yet. The bottom line is that authors/writers need social media and vice versa. It is increasingly important if you want to connect, sell, network and promote yourself and your books.

First, watch this brilliant video by @equalman , author of  Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business
. It is an eye opening look at the importance of social media and also a brilliant example of a book trailer (It made me ready to buy the book and I’m already a believer!)

Second, read this post by publisher Jane Friedman which includes “Hands down, online tools are the fastest and easiest way for unknown writers to begin building an audience, get better at their craft, and network with others who can make a difference in their careers.”

Basically – you need to promote your book in some way in order to get readers and sell books. Social media online is a brilliant way to do it. It is fun and you need to make it a part of your life. Yes, you will spend too much time doing it, but that’s because it’s a) fun and b) it works!

My own evidence:

• 95% of my book sales have come from people reading this blog, finding me on Twitter or Facebook or finding me through other social media sites. The other 5% are family and friends who would have bought anyway!
• 100% of my course sales for the Author 2.0 Program and over 3000 downloads of the Author 2.0 Blueprint have come from the same sources
• My top 5 traffic sources for this blog include: Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon – social media sites
• Most of my networking is now done online and I have met amazing people from all over the world, including most of my podcast guests. Most of this is due to Twitter.

If you are just starting in the social media world, here are some related posts for you:

• Social networking and web 2.0 sites for authors
• StumbleUpon: 3 ways for authors to use it
• Overwhelmed online: 3 steps to start your author platform building
• Facebook: How authors can use it for book promotion
• All about Twitter – the basics

Social media sites also need writers. The essence of web 2.0 is connection and user created content. Everyone who has a blog is a writer of some sort and everyone can be a publisher online. The people with the best skills to take advantage of this – WRITERS!

Yes, you have the skills people want in this content driven market, and your writing can sell your books and promote yourself. So, if you haven’t jumped into social media yet, now’s the time!

Here’s where you can find me if you’d like to connect - I’d love to hear from you! (I am on many more sites but these are my main ones!)

Twitter: @thecreativepenn

Facebook: joanna.penn

LinkedIn: Joanna Penn

FriendFeed: Joanna Penn

Flickr: TheCreativePenn

YouTube: TheCreativePenn

Thanks for coming back to the blog. To get the latest on writing, publishing, internet sales and marketing for your book, please subscribe to receive email updates from The Creative Penn blog. Just click here and enter your email address to subscribe.. Thanks for visiting!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tagged as: social networking