11 Tips for Writing a Great Blog Post

By Iola Goulton

Some authors love blogging. Some loathe it. But an author blog is often considered a necessary part of an author platform (especially for non-fiction authors).

If we're going to put time and effort into blogging, let's do it properly. Here are my 11 Tips for Writing a Great Blog Post:

1. Plan Ahead

Yes, I know this sounds boring. But it will cut down on your blogging stress in two ways because it means you won’t be scrambling to write and edit a blog post at the last minute. Planning ahead also means you can write when the urge hits you … even if that’s several weeks ahead of your scheduled post date. As an example, I’m drafting this post on 22 November. I know December is going to be busy, so I’m trying to get ahead while I can.

For those of us who contribute to group blogs, planning and scheduling ahead of time makes life a lot easier for the blog admins. 

A missed post can take an hour or more of admin time in checking the blog, checking the schedule, contacting the other admins, contacting the blogger, waiting for an answer, and trying to find a substitute post.

I’m an administrator for two group blogs (this and International Christian Fiction Writers) as well as having two blogs of my own (Iola Goulton and Christian Editing Services). It gives me a good feeling to check the calendar on Monday morning and find all the posts are scheduled for the week. All I have to do is promote them (see point 10 below).

2. Find the Perfect Topic

Sometimes you’re writing a blog post with a specific goal in mind: to share a cover reveal, a pre-order, a new release, or a specific time-sensitive promotion. These are easy posts to plan and write ahead of schedule, and should be part of your regular book launch marketing plan.

Sometimes you’re writing a post that has to fit a particular theme. For example, here on Australasian Christian Writers, Monday is a craft post and Thursday is a book review. We're introducing something new for Tuesday's next year, and I'll talk a little about that in my next post (yes, planning ahead).

But more often you’re faced with a blank slate. I find those blank slate posts harder to write than when I’ve got a topic in mind. So … plan ahead. Plan out what topics you’d like to cover and when. Then you can write to cover those topics, or (if the muse hits you) you can write to please the muse.

What makes a great blog post topic? I suggest:

• Something that interests you (so you’re going to enjoy writing it)
• Something that’s not going to date quickly (so you can continue to promote the post in the future).
• Something that’s relevant to your target audience. You do know your target audience, right? Do they ever ask questions? Yes? Then write an answer. You’re likely to get the same questions over and over, and having the answer in a blog post means you can direct future askers to the post.

(Kick Start Your Author Platform has more great tips on choosing the perfect post topic.)

3. Write at least 300 words

One of our objectives as writers is to be read. Which means writing words people want to read. But first people have to find what you’ve written. This means making your blog post as appealing to Google (and other search engines) as it is to your target reader.

Which means writing a blog post that’s at least 300 words long. More words are better, but only if they are good words. No padding!

(P.S. In a group blog, that's 300 or more words of content. Not 300 words including your bio.)

4. Make Your Post Scannable

As you write, make your post scannable. Many people read blog posts via a reader (such as Feedly), or on a mobile or tablet.

In an online world, scannable equals readable.

To make your blog post scannable:

• Use short paragraphs (no more than four lines).
• Use headings and subheadings.
• Use bullet points or lists where relevant. Like here.

5. Ask a Question

As bloggers, we need to engage our readers, to keep them coming back. A great way of doing this is to ask a question.

This could be like my Bookish Question, or like #FirstLineFriday posts (what’s the first line of the book nearest you?).

Or you could ask a question that’s relevant to theme of your post. If the post is sharing your favourite novels, ask your readers their favourite novels. If you’re about Christmas, ask your readers to share their favourite Christmas memory. You get the idea.

The blogs I enjoy reading most are generally conversations where the comments are as important as the blog itself. So work out how you can turn your blog post into a conversation.

6. Revise. Edit. Proofread

We’re writers. We can do this. (If you can’t, Christian Editing Services can help you!)

7. Add a Killer Title

Feedly delivers me over 100 blog posts every single day. I don’t have time to read 100 blog posts. No one does. So how do I decide which posts to read? Based on the title.

Some people don’t want to use clickbaity titles such as 11 Tips for Writing a Great Blog Post. However, it’s only clickbaity if the post doesn’t actually deliver on the promise (or makes you click through 32 screens to get the 11 points).

Also, I’m reliably informed (thanks, Margie Lawson) that people subconsciously like numbered posts, because the numbers show us how much longer until the end of the post (not long now, people).

8. Include a Relevant Image

People like images. Search engines like images. Social media likes images—experts will tell you posts with images get more attention.

Include images. (But make sure you are using them legally.)

Your main image should be centred at the very top of the post. This is the image Blogger will pick up for social media shares (if you use WordPress, you can select a Featured Image. WordPress will display that at the top of your post, and use it for social media shares).

Intersperse images throughout a longer post—it breaks up the text and makes it more readable. 

Use design software such as Canva to brand your images, so your images stand out to someone randomly scanning through Feedly. And include your killer title with your image—that will help when you’re sharing to visual sites like Instagram and Pinterest (see 10, below).

If you’re posting on a group blog like ACW, include your author photo, bio, and social media links at the bottom of the post.

9. Add Your Byline

Tell your readers who wrote the post. This is especially important if you’re writing for a group blog with multiple contributors. Some people will choose to read the post because you wrote it. Make it easy for them to know they want to read this post.

10. Promote Promote Promote

Note: promote promote promote does not mean spam spam spam.

Promoting means sharing your post with your target audience using relevant social networks.

If your post is about your multi-author romance giveaway, share in places where romance readers congregate (hint: not LinkedIn).

I use Buffer to share to Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter—Buffer's Power Scheduler means I can even schedule multiple posts at once. A few clicks, and it’s done, with a unique message for each network (e.g. one or two #hashtags on Twitter, but more on Instagram).

Why these networks?

• For my reader-writer-reviewer posts, my target reader is on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Many are also on Twitter, and it takes only a few extra seconds to get Buffer to share to Twitter as well.
• For my writer-editor posts, my target audience is on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. The beauty of Pinterest is that people can follow specific Boards, so people who aren’t interested in writing can choose not to follow my writing-related Boards.

I share on Google+ because that is indexed for SEO purposes. Translated: sharing to Google+ means Google is more likely to show my blog post (or Google+ share) to someone who is searching for posts on my topic.

The other reason for sharing or promoting is that some blog posts get more traction on social media than on the actual blog. For example, my weekly Bookish Question often gets no comments on the actual blog post, but always gets Likes and Comments on Facebook and Instagram (especially Instagram).

One request: if you’re a member of a group blog like ACW or ICFW, consider using a programme like Buffer to share everyone’s posts, not just your own. Because this is a community. Let’s work together and help each other.

11. Engage

You finished your blog post with a question, right? Now it’s important to check back and make sure you respond to answers (and other comments). And don’t forget to check your social media networks and respond to comments there as well.

Readers want to connect, to engage. That means responding to comments in a timely manner.

That’s it. My top blogging tips. Is there anything you don’t understand or you’d like more information on? Or anything you’d like to add? Let me know in the comments.

If even the thought of establishing a blog or an author platform fills you with dread … I can help. Click here to sign up to be notified about my March Marketing Challenge: Kick Start Your Author Platform.

About Iola Goulton

Iola Goulton is a New Zealand book reviewer, freelance editor, and author, writing contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist. She is a member of the Sisterhood of Unpronounceable Names (Iola is pronounced yo-la, not eye-ola and definitely not Lola).

Iola holds a degree in marketing, has a background in human resource consulting, and currently works as a freelance editor. When she’s not working, Iola is usually reading or writing her next book review. Iola lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty in New Zealand (not far from Hobbiton) with her husband, two teenagers and one cat. She is currently working on her first novel.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Reader Question: Should I Hire Someone to Build my Social Media Presence?

By Iola Goulton

An agent liked my manuscript, but said I needed to build my social media presence before he’d consider representing me. I work full time. Should I hire someone?

Short answer: Maybe. 

Long answer …

Maybe. It depends on what your agent means by a social media presence, the kind of books you write and plan to write, on your brand, and on what God wants for your writing.

Let me explain.

I don’t have an agent. I’m not seeking representation from an agent. (I’ll tell you why some other time, if you’re interested.) I’ve lurked on a lot of agent blogs over the years, and one thing I’ve found is that agents are all different.

• Some only accept electronic submissions; some only accept paper.
• Some want a query letter first, others think a query letter is a waste of time and want a full proposal.
• Some seem to think numbers are the only important aspect of a writer’s platform, others make no mention of the subject.

That’s an extended way of saying that for every agent who reads this blog post and thinks I’ve got something right, another will think I’ve got it wrong. The right answer to this question depends very much on the agent you’re talking about.

What is a Social Media Presence?

If your agent thinks a good social media presence is 100,000 engaged Twitter followers, then I can make some suggestions. Start by reading Rayne Hall’s book on building your Twitter following, and implement her suggestions. Then read Ian Sutherland’s book. He built a following of over 100,000 people in around a year, and he offers support services to help other authors do the same. That might be something you could consider … but only if that’s what your dream agent is thinking of.

What does this agent expect in terms of building your social media presence?

But this might not be what your dream agent means. So you need to know what he means before you invest your time or your money in developing a social media presence. Does he mean social media or does he mean a platform—your entire online presence including social media, your website, and your email list?

Also, what manuscript did you submit that he liked?

• Fiction or non-fiction?
• What genre?
• Was it written for adults, teenagers, or children?

You’ve got the basics of a social media presence although it could do with refreshing, updating, and perhaps expanding (depending on your book):

• Website and a blog (although they should be combined onto one site).
• Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.

You also need to consider developing an email list and regular newsletter to subscribers, as this might be what your agent is looking for).

Build Your Brand

But how you do this will depend on what you are writing, and who you are writing for. You need to decide who you are, and build your author brand around that persona. Then you need to attract and engage with potential readers.

I believe you should do this yourself.

Because you can’t hire someone to tell you who you are.

Once you know who you are and who you want to be online, you can hire someone to help you broadcast that message. But you’re going to have to do some of the hard work up front.

It’s generally agreed that a non-fiction author needs more of an author platform to interest an agent than a fiction author. That’s especially true in the case of true-life stories—for example, I’ve read that agents aren’t interested in cancer stories. They’re all too common.

Once you’ve decided who you are, and once you know what kind of platform your dream agent wants you to build, then you have another decision: is that what you want to do? Is it what God wants you to be doing? (I ask because your social media profiles make it clear you’re a Christian.)

Should you hire someone to build your social media presence?

The answer is going to depend on the answers to other questions:

• What does this agent mean by “build a social media presence”? This is the most important question.
• What manuscript is he interested in? What’s the genre? Is this the same as the books you’ve previously published, or different?
• What is your brand? In other words, who are you? How do you want people to see you?
• What does God want for your writing? Is this closed door a challenge for you to get past, or is it a door God doesn’t want you to open? Is chasing this agent God’s plan for you and your writing?
• How much is hiring someone going to cost? What results will you get? Is that return on your investment worth it to you?
• Could you find a way to do this yourself, perhaps by investing in online tools such as Buffer or Hootsuite?

Once you've answered those questions, then you can get back to your original question: should you hire someone?

I suspect the answer is no.

That might change in a couple of weeks or a couple of months, when you find the answers to some of my other questions. By then, I suspect, the answer to your original question will be obvious.

If you’ve got a question you’d like me to answer in a future blog post, please email me via www.christianediting.co.nz/contact, or tag @iolagoulton on Twitter.

About Iola Goulton

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction. Visit my website at www.christianediting.co.nz to download a comprehensive list of publishers of Christian fiction. 

I also write contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist—find out more at www.iolagoulton.com.

You can also find me on:
Facebook (Author)
Facebook (Editing)
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

Writers Supporting Writers ~ Group Blogs

By Narelle Atkins

I’m a big fan of group blogs, and blogging in general. Blogs provide a platform for writers to share and interact with readers. Blogging platforms are public and accessible to everyone who has a web browser. Unlike other social media platforms, the blog reader has full control over the blog post content they can access online. They can also choose how they want to read and interact with different blog posts.

Writing group blogs are a fun way to network and meet other writers and readers. They provide an opportunity for writers to hone their article writing skills. They also provide an opportunity to create an online community that’s inspiring, supportive, and encouraging. A community that is welcoming, inclusive, and works together to achieve a common goal.

How can you support your group blogs? 

1) Participation 

Being an active member of group blog is a great first step. This may involve joining a group blog as regular member of the blog posting team, guest blogging, commenting on blog posts, and sharing blog posts on social media. 

Australasian Christian Writers (ACW) has an active Facebook Group that’s linked to the blog. The Monday-Friday blog posts are shared in the ACW Facebook Group. We welcome guest bloggers and we also invite writers who have guest blogged to join our blogging team if a regular posting spot becomes available.

2) Commenting on blog posts

Last year Paula Vince shared an excellent post on her personal blog titled Why don’t we leave comments on blogs? Ironically, her blog post has 70 comments. I encourage you to read her post and comments if you haven’t seen it. Paula tackles the elephant in the room and covers this topic in-depth.

Blog post comments are one way you can support other writers. Sometimes we can over think what to write in a comment. A simple thank you or a few words of encouragement can mean a lot to the author of the post who has invested time and effort in writing the post.

I believe it’s important for all of us to consider taking a step outside our comfort zone by reaching out and commenting on blog posts written by Bloggers who we don’t know. This is how we can create a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive blog community. If we only comment on group blog posts written by our friends, the group blog could look like a clique to readers who follow the blog posts and notice the pattern in the comments.

Blog comments provide a chance to give feedback to the author of the post. If there are no blog post comments, the author may assume their post isn’t engaging or reaching their target audience. Writers may quit blogging if they think no one is reading their posts.

3) Sharing blog posts

Many of us have busy lives and find it hard to schedule time to read blog posts. This can be more difficult if the blog post content is outside our area of interest.

We can support the authors of blog posts by sharing their posts on social media. Wordpress offers an option for blog readers to like blog posts. Liking a blog post is a fast and easy way to show an author that you value their blog post. Carolyn Miller recently wrote an excellent blog post titled Please Like Me! that explores the question of why people don’t press like on Facebook posts.

Blogger and Wordpress have made it easy to share blog posts on social media. For the examples below I’ve taken screenshots from Iola’s ACW blog post on Monday.

• M symbol – Email the blog post link to a friend via Blogger. You need to have a Blogger profile to access this option. 

• B symbol – Blog This. You need a Blogger blog to reblog the content. 

• T symbol – Share to Twitter. A fast and easy way to tweet the blog post to your Twitter followers. The blog post text is automatically created, and all you need to do is sign into Twitter and press share. 

• F symbol – Share to Facebook. You can share the blog post to your Facebook profile timeline, a Facebook group, or a Facebook page you manage. 

• P symbol – Post to Pinterest. You have the option to select the boards where you want to pin the post. 

• G symbol – Share to Google+. Pressing the G symbol creates a ‘plus one’ (which is the equivalent of a like) and the option to share the post to your Google+ profile. Last year I wrote a blog post for ACW on Google+ ~ Is it relevant and useful for writers?

I share group blog posts via Buffer and Social Jukebox. Please see Iola Goulton’s ACW post How to be on Twitter 24/7 Without Being on Twitter 24/7 to learn more about sharing blog posts using social media tools. 

My daily routine for social media group blog post sharing

I use the paid version of Buffer and share group blog posts to 1) Twitter 2) Google+ profile and 3) Facebook Author Page (if the content is relevant to my target audience). 

I may not have the time to read the daily posts from my list of group blogs, but I can find five or ten minutes each day to support the writers by sharing their blog posts on social media. 

Is there something new you can try to encourage and support the writers of group blog posts? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

A fun loving Aussie girl at heart, NARELLE ATKINS was born and raised on the beautiful northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. She has settled in Canberra with her husband and children. A lifelong romance reader, she found the perfect genre to write when she discovered inspirational romance. Narelle's contemporary stories of faith and romance are set in Australia.

Website: http://www.narelleatkins.com

Blog: http://narelleatkins.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NarelleAtkinsAuthor

Twitter: @NarelleAtkins https://twitter.com/NarelleAtkins

How to be on Twitter 24/7 Without Being on Twitter 24/7

By Iola Goulton

This week I'm going to talk about how to automate your Twitter account so you’re being a good Twitter citizen.

Yes, this will require a little time to set up. 

But it really is set-it-and-forget-it. Mostly.

Here are the main tools I use:

CrowdFire (previously JustUnfollow)

This tool is for managing Twitter followers. Twitter has rules about how many accounts you can follow, and the basic aim is to ensure you follow roughly the same number of accounts as follow you, so keeping your follower/following ratio close to 1:1. Tools like CrowdFire allow you to identify which accounts you follow that don't follow you back, so you can Unfollow these people and best manage your following/follower ratio.

The free version of CrowdFire allows you to follow up to 50 accounts per day, and unfollow up to 100 (well, these are my limits. Your limits might be lower if you have less than 5,000 followers).

The paid version allows you more follows and unfollows, and allows you to connect Instagram as well. I've just upgraded on a month-by-month basis, mostly to manage my Instagram followers. I haven't decided if I'll make this a permanent investment yet. It might depend on whether I get to keep the USD 5.99 promotional price, or whether I'll have to pay the USD 9.99 full price.

RoundTeam

I'm on the free plan, which allows me 200 tweets per month. I’ve set it up so I’m retweeting 5-6 tweets per day from a List (the @ACWriters list of ACW members). Every time someone on the @ACWriters list tweets, Roundteam put that tweet into a “bucket”, then tweets one post an hour between midnight and 6am (New Zealand time).

Paid plans start at USD 10 per month. 

These allow you to connect more than one Twitter account, and to have more tweets per month. The paid plans also remove the promotional tweets (at the moment, for every 50 tweets I send, RoundTeam will send one automated Tweet from me extolling the virtues of their service).

SocialJukebox (previously TweetJukebox)

You all know what a jukebox is: in the old days, it had a bunch of 45s and you could select which song you wanted from the playlist (for the younger readers: a 45 is a record with only one song on each side). They also had a random play function, and that is the concept behind Social Jukebox.

You load a virtual jukebox up with tweets, and SocialJukebox sends them randomly at predetermined intervals. 

So, for example, you could have a jukebox for old blog posts that you tweet each Thursday using the #tbt (throwback Thursday) hashtag. Yes, you have to load the posts into the relevant jukebox, but it’s a once-and-done thing: once you’ve loaded a post, it will be in that jukebox until you delete it. If I was going to post self-promotional tweets, I’d create them in SocialJukebox, then set it to post. Not too often—I wouldn’t want my Twitter stream to become all about me (the general guideline is to make no more than 20% of your posts about you).

SocialJukebox was previously known as TweetJukebox, and it just offered Tweets. The new version also posts to Facebook and LinkedIn, although I don’t use those options. Yet. (Mostly because while I don’t mind seeing Tweets repeated, I’m not a fan of seeing the same Facebook post over and over. And if it annoys me, it’s reasonable to expect it will annoy my followers as well). So I have to work out an effective sharing strategy.

Thank You Tweets

But the handy feature of SocialJukebox is that it automatically sends out thank you Tweets each Friday—an @mention and thank you to up to 50 people who have retweeted or mentioned you during the preceeding week. It’s always polite to say thank you, and this feature makes it easy.

I am currently on the basic paid plan for Social Jukebox. 

This gives me more Jukeboxes and thank you tweets to 100 people. I paid USD 120 for a year, but the prices are about to go up (to reflect the move from just supporting Twitter, to also supporting Facebook and LinkedIn). Even so, the new price of USD 24.99 per month is cheap compared to MeetEdgar, a similar tool, which is now USD 79.99 per month.

The paid plan also allows me to access three Twitter accounts ... so I can create an Australasian Christian Writers Jukebox to support and promote our blogger members.

More on that later ... 

Buffer

This requires a little more input in my part. It works in a similar way to RoundTeam and SocialJukebox in that it automatically posts content for me. The only difference is I have to load the posts in myself, and each will only post once (although there is a multiple post option). I find Buffer to be an excellent tool for posting new content or news, whereas SocialJukebox is better suited for evergreen content (content which isn’t going to date—like a book review or Bible verse meme).

I’m on Buffer’s Awesome plan, which costs me USD 10 per month.

This allows me to link up to 12 social media accounts—including Pinterest and Instagram. If I could only justify one paying for social media plan, this would be it, because it enables me to post throughout the day even when I'm out of wifi zone (as I will have been for the last three days by the time you read this).

This is also how I share many of my posts to the Australasian Christian Writers Facebook group.

No, I'm not on Twitter (or social media in general) 24/7. But tools like this allow me to be "active" even when I'm asleep.

Do you use any free or paid tools to help you manage social media? Which tools do you recommend? 

About Iola Goulton

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction. Visit my website at www.christianediting.co.nz to download a comprehensive list of publishers of Christian fiction. 

I also write contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist—find out more at www.iolagoulton.com.

You can also find me on:
Facebook (Author)
Facebook (Editing)
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

Four Things you Need to Know About Twitter

By Iola Goulton

Last week, I talked about why authors need to be on Twitter. I promised I'd be back this week to discuss my favourite Twitter tools ... but realised there were a couple of things I needed to cover first.

So today I’m going to give you a little background to three important Twitter topics: hashtags, mentions, and lists. And an important Twitter Tip that you'll need to remember before you even think about automating any Twitter tasks. I'll be back next week to talk about Twitter tools and automation. Promise!

About Hashtags

You’ve all seen hashtags—they’re all over social media. Things like #amreading or #amwriting or #amediting … basically, anything preceeded by a hash symbol (#, which is what Americans call a pound key).

Hashtags are important because they are how people search for topics on Twitter (and Instagram). You want to find millions of Trump haters? Search for #dumptrump. Want the latest Game of Thrones gossip and spoilers (or to vent about the current episode)? Try #gameofthrones or simply #got. Looking for a book to read? Try #amreading or #christfic #inspy or #romance or #bookworm. Using #cr4u (Clean Reads for You) will always get you a lot of retweets.

You can even invent your own hashtag, for a book, a series, a genre (like #cr4u), or an event. For example, the Omega Christian Writer’s Conference is this weekend, so I was wondering what hashtag we could use so you can all find our posts to read and share (hint hint).

#Omega2016 was my first choice, so I searched for it on Twitter. There are already a number of tweets using that hashtag—it seems to have been used by a missions trip to Thailand, and a Spanish-speaking graduating class, as well as other odd tweets. Perhaps not a good choice.

#Omega16 looks like a better option: only a handful of tweets, and none recent. Yes, it’s that easy.

And you can use the same hashtag on Facebook and Instagram (Instagram loves hashtags. Facebook … allows them, but not everyone uses them proprerly #soyougetlotsofwordsjoinedtogetherwhichdontmeanmuch.

#Omega16 it is.

About Mentions

These are called @-mentions (at-mentions), because of the @ key which comes in front of your Twitter name (so I’m @iolagoulton). If you want someone to see your Tweet, you tag them with an @-mention. This also means your tweet will show up in the Twitter feed of all their followers … so it’s not something to abuse.

But it is considered good Twitter etiquette to @-mention someone if, say, you’re linking to a blog post about them. For example:

Or if you're reviewing their book:

Or interviewing them:

(This relates to my post last week, about why you need to be on Twitter. Why would you want to miss out on knowing when people are being nice about you?)

Twitter Lists

Once you’ve been on Twitter a while, you’ll find you can’t actually scan every tweet from every person you follow (and you wouldn’t want to, especially not if some of the people you follow are the spam-every-six-minutes types). But that doesn’t mean you want to unfollow them …

Twitter lists are the answer to this dilemma. Group similar accounts into a List, and you can just review tweets from that list. Sometimes I add interesting people to a list, then find out they are tweet-every-six-minute spammers. The solution is simple: take them off the list.

(As an aside, this is why you shouldn’t be a tweet-every-six-minute spammer. It’s possible no one will notice if they follow hundreds or thousands of active accounts. But if they put you on a list, spammy behaviour is easy to spot and difficult to ignore.)

The way they achieve this annoying omniscience is through automation. They’ll use a tool to preschedule hundreds of tweets each week, each promoting themselves or their books. This behaviour gives automation a bad name.

But there is a better way to use automation. I’ll talk about that next week.

Meanwhile, here’s my big #TwitterTip (hey! See the hashtag!):

Twitter is not all about you.

If you spend any time on Twitter (or read blog posts about Twitter or other social media), you’ll come across some variation of the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80:20 rule:

No more than 20% of your posts should be about you.

Most of your posts (80%, or four out of five) should be posts from or about other people, such as retweets of interesting blog posts. That is, blog posts which are interesting to your target reader … which may or may not be people like you. Not blog posts you liked because they had useful writing or editing tips (unless your target reader is a writer).

If you can focus on this 80:20 principle, focus on providing content that your readers will find interesting, you’ll get interaction with readers and you might even find you come to enjoy using Twitter.

But if you make it all about you … Yeah. You might get nothing but tumbleweeds. Not so good.

About Iola Goulton

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction. Visit my website at www.christianediting.co.nz to download a comprehensive list of publishers of Christian fiction. 

I also write contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist—find out more at www.iolagoulton.com.

You can also find me on:
Facebook (Author)
Facebook (Editing)
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

Dear Author, You Need to be on Twitter

By Iola Goulton

As many of you probably know, I review books. Lots of books. I currently have over 800 reviews on my blog, going back over five years. Some are for books I loved, some for books I loathed, and some for books which were good books but not spectacular.

I review on my blog, and copy the reviews to other sites such as Goodreads, Amazon, Christian Book Distributors, Koorong Books, and Riffle. I also share a lot of my reviews on social media—Facebook, Google+, Pinterest … and Twitter.

And when I share a book I loved, I want the author to know about it. 

That’s not me being egotistical. It’s me being practical: authors love reviews, especially positive reviews. It encourages them:

But I want them writing, not stalking Amazon and book blogs looking for reviews. So when I post a review to Twitter, I like to tag them in the review so I can be sure they’ll see it when they do check. It also brings my review to the attention of other people looking at the author’s Twitter feed.

An author will often share my tweeted review, potentially bringing it to the attention of more readers. Well, why wouldn’t they? They want reviews, especially positive reviews. They want their current and potential readers to know about those reviews, in the hope that will influence more people to buy their book. This is a biblical principle:

If I say something about myself, it's not valid. If you say it, it is ... especially if someone else agrees with you.

There’s even an internet buzzword for it: user-generated content (or UGC). 

That’s a simple way of saying they author (the producer) gets shareable content (Tweet, book review, meme) from users (me). Because me (or you) saying something positive about a book is more powerful than the author saying it herself. Or himself.

It’s self-promotion, but not the annoying kind. Sure, Twitter is full of authors spamming the feed with “buy my book!” promos every six minutes. That’s the annoying kind of self-promotion, because it’s all about the author. The beauty of user-generated content is it’s from the user. An author who retweets me is promoting me as much as she’s promoting herself.

But not every author is on Twitter.

Or if they are, they have weird names that means I can’t identify them. And that means I can’t tag them in my posts. It means they don’t benefit from my user-generated content. It means they’re missing out on me promoting them—which means they have to promote themselves. Probably by spamming.

To plagiarise Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that authors hate promoting themselves.

Fine. I get that. But that’s not a good reason to avoid Twitter. It means you’re thinking about it the wrong way. Instead of thinking of Twitter as another social media network you have to be on to promote yourself, think of it like this:

Twitter is a way readers, reviewers and authors can find you and influence for you. And a way you can influence for promote readers, reviewers and other authors.

Doesn’t that sound better? Pay it forward. Be relentlessly helpful. Make social media about other people, not you.

Some authors aren’t on Twitter because they think it’s going to be a lot of work. It’s not (or if it is, you’re doing it wrong). There are heaps of free (and paid) tools that will help you manage your Twitter account. I’ll be back next week to talk about some of my favourite tools.

Meanwhile, if you’re not on Twitter, why don’t you head over there and set up an account?

While you’re there, follow me (@iolagoulton) and Australasian Christian Writers (@acwriters). Then leave a comment with your Twitter user name so we can follow you back, watch for your Tweets and retweet you. If you’re on Twitter … well, that’s even more reason to follow us!

#TwitterTips: Nine Tips for Using Twitter

By Iola Goulton

This week was going to be a post on using Facebook . . . but that's now going to be a two-part post next Monday and Tuesday. For today, here are nine tips on how to use Twitter as an author.

Twitter is for twits. That was my first impression, and my second wasn’t much better: that Twitter is like a gaggle of teenage girls with everyone talking and no one listening.

But I’ve persevered, and Twitter is now my second most influential social media network, after Facebook. And I’ve got to the point where it requires very little effort to add my content and maintain both my profile (@iolagoulton) and the Australasian Christian Writers account (@acwriters).

Despite the noise, the seemingly endless spam from authors who don’t know how to use Twitter, and the rumours it’s dying, Twitter has two huge advantages over Facebook:

• There are no limits as to the number of followers you can have.
• Tweets are indexed by Google, which impacts on search engine optimisation.

No, Twitter shouldn’t replace your own website and email list. But it’s an additional way of getting yourself out there and connecting with potential readers. And once you know a few Twitter tricks, it’s easy to use and doesn’t take long.

So what are my must-do #TwitterTips?

1. Set up a Twitter account

Set up a Twitter account using your author name, not your book name (you are going to write more than one book, aren’t you?). Even if you don’t plan to actively use Twitter, this enables other people to tag you in their posts (using what’s called the at-mention, e.g. @iolagoulton). Note that your Twitter name can be no longer than 15 characters.

If your name is taken, use your website name, or try JohnSmith-Writer, JohnSmith-Author, WriterJohnSmith or similar.

Add your author photo, and a header image (use Canva to create a 1500 x 500 pixel Twitter header.

Write your bio. You have 160 characters, and can include hashtags (see below). You can also include website addresses: use a link shortener such as bit.ly if the website addresses push you over your 160-character limit. Check out the bios of authors in your genre for ideas.

2. Manage Your Follows

The Twitterverse considers it good manners to follow anyone who follows you (unless you’re a major league celebrity). I follow back most people who follow me, excluding:

• People who don’t Tweet in English (I don’t want Tweets I can’t read)
• Spam accounts (e.g. buy followers)

Use appropriate tools to manage who you follow (to unfollow non-followers, and find target readers to follow). All tools have free and paid plans, with paid plans offering added features such as multiple accounts. I use Crowdfire to manage @iolagoulton, and ManageFlitter to manage @acwriters (yes, it recently occurred to me that while I can only manage one account through the free version of Crowdfire, I can use two free tools to manage two accounts). ManageFlitter is apparently the better product, but I find Crowdfire easier to use.

3. Tweet and Retweet

A tweet is you sending an original message while a retweet is you forwarding someone else’s message. Many people use RT to signal a retweet.

Figure out what you’re going to tweet, and make sure it’s not all about you—no read my blog, buy my book, follow me on every social media platform in existence including MySpace (I ignore most tweets in my feed, because that’s exactly who it is all about, and I recently unfollowed one author because not only was it all about her, but she tweets every ten minutes. 24/7).

Twitter is a social network, and the key word is “social”. Think about what your target reader might be interested in: if you write science fiction, try Dr Who memes and pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch. Mystery authors could tweet Sherlock Holmes quotes and pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch. If you write Christian romance, Bible verses, poetry quotes and funny book memes might be more appropriate. Perhaps no pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch. A shame.

Advice used to be to include images and links in your tweets to maximise engagement. That may be true, but my personal experience is that I get the most interaction from snarky "Dear Author" oneliners and #badwritingtips.

4. Use Hashtags

The # (hashtag) is used to identify topics by making tweets easily searchable by Google, which helps SEO (search engine optimisation). Popular writer hashtags include:

• Genre tags (#romance, #chrisfic)
• Book tags (#amreading, #books, #greatreads, #bookblogger)
• Writing tags (#amwriting, #amediting, #1K1H—writing 1000 words in an hour)
• Publishing tags (#amazon, #kindle, #publishingtips)
• Marketing tags (#bookmarketing, #marketingtips).

Research shows Tweets with one or two hashtags get the most retweets.

Hashtags are also used for Twitter chats and events. However, these are usually in the evenings in US time, which makes them a little inconvenient for those of us in Australia and New Zealand.

5. Use Appropriate Tools

@ACWriters uses a free tool called Roundteam to retweet tweets from members of Australasian Christian Writers. This is managed using the ACW list: if you’d like to be added to the list, please follow @ACWriters and @iolagoulton, and tweet @iolagoulton to ask to be added. @acwriters also tweets the posts on Australasian Christian Writers.

@iolagoulton tweets book reviews, and tips on writing, editing, publishing, marketing, and social media. I curate and schedule all my social media updates using Buffer. I have sprung for Buffer’s Awesome plan (USD 10 per month), which is truly awesome as it means I’m posting regularly without actually being on social media 24/7.

Many Twitter experts recommend Hootsuite to manage Twitter and other social media accounts. Others rave about Edgar, but that costs around USD 50 per month. (which is probably worth it, because it combines the features of several other services). ManageFlitter is another option: you can schedule posts if you are on their paid Pro plan.

I find the Buffer interface cleaner and easier to use, and the paid plan allows me to schedule tweets for both @iolagoulton and @acwriters (as I’m the person with the password). As @iolagoulton, I’ve also started using TweetJukebox, which cycles through a preset list of tweets, and thanks people who’ve retweeted me. Out of interest: is this annoying, or do you like being thanked?

Most of these tools will both schedule posts and recommend optimum posting times based on when your followers are online (yes, Big Brother is watching you). The trick with these tools is to ensure your retweets are consistent with your author brand: as a Christian, you don’t want to find yourself retweeting Christian Grey quotes because the keyword matches.

Four Twitter Don’ts

6. Don’t follow everybody

Twitter limits each account to following 5,000 people until you have 5,000 followers. Then you can follow no more than 10% more than the number of people following you. So if you have 10,000 followers, you can follow 11,000 people. (Better to be the other way around, and follow fewer people than follow you).

7. Don’t make it all about you

Follow the 80:20 rule, and ensure no more than 20% of your Tweets are about you. Some commentators recommend 20:1. Unfortunately, most authors seem to think it's all about them, and my Twitter stream is often full of "buy my book!" spam, which I ignore.

8. Don’t send automatic messages

It might feel rude, but don’t thank people for following you, asking them to follow you on Facebook, or subscribe to your blog, or anywhere else. And don’t ask them to buy your book.

9. Don’t automatically screen followers

Specifically, don’t use TrueTwit or any other computer program to determine whether or not your followers are real. The only people I’ve seen recommend TrueTwit are TrueTwit employees.

For more information

I spend maybe five minutes a day specifically on activities related to Twitter (i.e. following and unfollowing, and interacting with other Twitter users). The rest of my activity is automated, although I have to set up and feed that automation, which is part of my more general social media time.

If you’d like to learn more about using Twitter as an author, here are two suggestions:

1. Read Twitter for Writers by Rayne Hall
2. Read Advanced Twitter Strategies for Authors by Ian Sutherland

Of course, it’s not enough to read. You also need to apply what you’ve learned.

Finally, remember Twitter is not about selling books. That’s a nice-to-have. The main purpose of social networking is to be social, and to aid discoverability. It's social. Not sell-me.

Do you use Twitter? Do you have any #twittertips to share?

About Iola Goulton

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction, and you can find out more about my services at my website (www.christianediting.co.nz),  subscribe to my monthly newsletter at CES Newsletter or follow me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christianediting), Twitter (@IolaGoulton) or Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/iolasreads).

Delivering my Baby

Um, I'm a bit past that now, but that's what my agent said she'd do for me. And believe me, I'm the one who has really experienced all the labour pains.

I have had a few miscarriages with my manuscripts. I have come close, but failed at the committee level. Unlike a baby coming whether ready or not, our little novel babies require a great deal of perseverance and hard work to actually bring the delivery to pass.

First a well written query, then if accepted comes the BOOK PROPOSAL which causes most authors to shudder. It's very demanding. In it you must persuade an agent, then a publisher why they should read a chapter or two of your book.

Here's what I wrote and maybe you can use it as a guide:

Title:              The Testing of Taylor Jones   Historical Romance with Quest subplot 

Hook:             A venture into the unknown. A step of faith or an incalculable blunder?

Late 1890s: As members of a covert expedition in search of a creature thought extinct, Dr. Garrett Steele, veterinary professor of the New England Museum of Natural History and reporter, Miss Taylor Jones, are thrust to the limits of their courage and endurance in the rugged outback of Australia. He wants to make the find of the century and she wants to write an account that will make her a household name. When betrayed by a rogue team member, danger escalates their passionate clash of personalities into a relationship neither had bargained for. Will each find what they crave, or will they fail the final gut-wrenching challenge?

Then follows a one or two page SYNOPSIS, PROMOTION,  MARKETING and COMPETITION

Uniqueness:

v  The fascinating subject of cryptozoology: the study and search for animals thought to be extinct. Many naturalists were involved in this well over a century ago.

v  The huge but elusive Burrunjor has been depicted in cave paintings, rock carvings, and in reports by early Australian colonists. And bones of large carnivores have been located in remote Outback caves. Also the fascinating, mysterious Aboriginal culture.

v  Along with her speleologist brother, Rita has been on a few caving jaunts and these experiences gave her real insight into the feeling of aloneness in the cave depths. 

This is followed by ENDORSEMENTS, CHRISTIAN THEME, INTENDED READERS, and the MANUSCRIPT STATUS - length and whether completed.

A full AUTHOR BIO, PUBLISHING CREDITS and FUTURE PROJECTS.

I was also urged to get a TWITTER a/c. Would you also like to follow me? @RitaSGalieh

Even at this stage with my agent promising to spread it around her editor contacts, I can only continue praying my novel will eventually find the right home.

      So, as soon as you can, begin working on your Hook and Synopsis for your Book Proposal. It helps by planning ahead.
                               
    *  Rita Stella Galieh is a scriptwriter and co-presenter on Vantage Point, a 5 minute program broadcast throughout Australia. She has contributed to several US Anthologies by Adams Media and has two Historical Romances published by Ark House Press. Each year she and her husband minister in Buddhist Government schools, prisons, hospitals & churches in Thailand