I’ve been a Twitter user for going on three years now. I think I’ve seen some benefit from the contacts I’ve made and the articles of mine that have been re-tweeted. I like Twitter and I’m there most days, re-tweeting things and interacting on a number of levels. Over the weekend I had a bit of a success story and I thought I’d share that with you folks.
In my Twitter stream, I noticed one of the folks I follow was quoting lines from one of my favorite movies. I had seen this person previously, I think but I hadn’t really interacted with them too much, if at all. Well, I started tweeting some quotes from the same movie and we had a good time of it. Later, He sent a tweet that went something like, “Buy my novel and I might be able to buy a taco for dinner.” Oh, that’s right, he’s an author. So I went to the link in the tweet and I saw his novel on Amazon – A Kindle version no less. It was just under three bucks and I was looking for a read so I downloaded “Near Death” by Richard C. Hale. I started reading and I was pleased to discover that it was a great book. I loved every moment of it, finished it over the weekend and wrote a review on Amazon. I let Richard know, and he was kind enough to download my “Short Book of Short Shorts.” but that’s not the success story.
The real success story is that a social media site worked exactly as it should. Someone in my network posted something that caught my eye and got me looking a little closer at their postings. A link was included in the posting, I clicked and I bought. He ends up with a book sale and a loyal fan. I end up making a great connection and having a great book reading experience. Win-win.
I bring this up to remind us writers to not give up and for the love of Pete, learn how to handle social media appropriately. I see writers all the time on Twitter that never re-tweet anyone’s stuff, they never acknowledge any re-tweeting of their stuff and they never engage. Their posts are always the same. Look at my book, look at my book. Sorry, not inclined to buy. Show me you’re human first.
George, Thanks so much for the kind words about the novel and for your positive outlook. And you hit the nail on the head here. I’m somewhat of a Twitter rookie and started out doing just what you try to explain here. I tweeted little pieces of irritation that no one in their right mind would acknowlegedge; Buy Me, Click me!, Read me. It was a wonder I had a single response at all. It wasn’t until I started being MYSELF that turned it around. I also make it a point now to engage people in the Twitterverse and not only has it resulted in sales, I have a crap load of people I can now call my friend. You being one of them.
Keep the great blogs and stories coming! I, for one, love ‘em!
Rich
You are most welcome, Sir Richard. It’s a great book and truly a social media success story.
Cheers
George
Marketing 101 says people do business with those they ‘know, like and trust’. Nobody wants to know like and trust an ad that says ‘buy me’ and nothing more. This post is an awesome reminder of how it can work when we do it right. Thanks George!
Heather @ Eclectic Six´s last [type] ..New Coca-Cola Can Design to Support WWF
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Great post. Very inspiring and it shows how well social media can work when it’s done right – engage the audience and be social.
Great article, George. I think we all start out pretty rough with social media and have to learn with time how to use it right. It’s beautiful when it results in not only sales, but more importantly, friends. I am happy someone re-tweeted your article so I found my way here. I just downloaded samples of both your books to check out on my phone (I don’t get my Kindle till Christmas
) Both stories look great. thanks again for sharing the connection.
Hi Amy,
It’s very nice to connect with you. I’m reading your book, The Academie And I’m thoroughly enjoying it. When I’m finished I’m going to post a review on Amazon for ya!
Cheers
George