The question I’m most frequently asked by authors on Twitter is “How on earth can I find readers?”
Every author I’ve met with a Twitter account is keenly interested in the answer to this question, because they know that directly engaging with readers can lead to significantly increased readership of their books.
But while it’s easy to locate fellow authors on Twitter, how to find readers baffles almost everyone.
The challenge we all face is that readers don’t identify themselves in their Twitter profiles. An author’s profile might state: “Historical Fiction Author.” But the vast majority of their readers don’t identify themselves as: “Historical Fiction Reader”.
The result is that in spite of endless Tweeting, interactions and building follower numbers, most authors still can’t find their reader-audience.
The reality is that finding readers on Twitter is actually quite easy, if you know where to look for them.
No matter which book genre you write in, Twitter truly is an ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ of information about the fiction readers you’re looking for. So I thought I’d share how to find them. This will be a game-changer for many authors, yet is ‘smack your forehead’ simple to do.
Readers Can Be Found By Using Twitter Search
The method is to type into Twitter’s search panel certain words and phrases that readers of your fiction genre might be using in their Tweets. Doing a few of these searches will start to reveal readers of that fiction genre in significant numbers.
Then just go through the search results and follow those readers that you feel belong to your book genre, based on what they say in their Tweets. Many of them will follow you back.
Here are three suggested search methods:
1: Search using the names of successful authors in your fiction genre.
This approach finds the readers of successful authors in the same genre as you.
For example, if you’re a YA author, you might search for author “Lemony Snicket”, who writes the hugely popular YA series ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’
This search will reveal readers in the YA fiction genre, because many of the Tweets will clearly be from people Tweeting about their “Lemony Snicket” reading experience.
Simply go through the search results and pick out the users who are obviously YA readers in your genre. Click on the names you like, and their profile will pop up - then click each one to follow them. (The idea being that many of them will follow you back.)
Note: When searching, remember to click the “All” link at the top so you can see all the Tweets that include a particular phrase, not just the most popular.
2: Search using the titles of bestselling books in your genre.
Another way to search is by using a well known author’s popular book title – from your own book genre.
For example, if you wanted to find readers of paranormal fiction, you could search for titles by author Amanda Hocking.
She wrote a million selling paranormal series called the ‘Trylle Trilogy’. Searching for that title (using the search box) will generate a list of Twitter users many of whom will be reading the books and Tweeting about their experience.
Using the content of the Tweets as a guide, choose users who are obviously dedicated readers of paranormal genre fiction.
3: Search using the names of popular characters, places and concepts that occur in other books in your genre.
This requires searching for the names of characters, places or other unique things mentioned in bestseller books from your genre, that people might mention in their tweets.
For example if you’re a fantasy author, you might search for names of things that appear in Robert Jordan’s famous ‘Wheel Of Time’ series. If you search for “Rand al’Thor” – the name of the main character in the books – you’ll find fantasy readers talking about him on Twitter.
As in the previous example, pick Twitter users to follow who are obviously readers, and who fit with your genre and style.
I could go on giving examples, but if you use your imagination, you’ll easily be able to come up with other relevant search terms. With a little work your searches will produce a treasure trove of readers who are fans of your genre.
How To Turn Your Twitter Followers Into Book Buyers
Finding these genre readers is of course just the first step of the process. You then need to persuade them to buy your books.
The worst possible way to do this (something many authors still do unfortunately) is to start shouting “Hey here is my book, you should buy it!” at them. People find this extremely annoying, and will often unfollow you.
Instead, converting your Twitter followers into buyers only happens if you interact with them the right way. Twitter is all about engagement. You need to become familiar to them, so they feel connected with you and your work, because you both love the same things… and then they buy your books.
I cover the entire process step-by-step in my ‘Twitter For Authors’ mini-course. The course contains some other great ways to find readers and grow a large following, plus how to use Twitter to find a publisher.
What do you think? Do you like Twitter? Do you think it’s more effective than Facebook? Please leave a comment.
Article written by Jonathan Gunson
Author / CEO Bestseller Labs
Notice: This article is copyrighted material. Reproduction of brief snippets of the first half of this article with a link to this site are permitted, but it may not be reproduced in full anywhere without the written permission of Jonathan Gunson at BestsellerLabs.com
Jonathan, thank you for another excellent post, and the Twitter book update.
I’ve only just discovered your excellent work and it has given me a long-needed boost in my writing career. For too long I’ve been going to “old way,” wondering and getting frustrated why it was not working. Now, thanks to you, I know and I am now surfing this new wave of enthusiasm and knowledge.
What I’ve learnt from you I’ve already applied and saw immediate results, in the number of visits to my site and the Amazon rating of my first book The Trout Diaries, both in the US and UK. I’ve got another book in production now, still the old way, and I’m also even more excited about self-publishing my biotech thrillers on which I have nearly given up as I could see no reasonable way to get them to the market and give them exposure that’d make it worthwhile. So thank you again. You have made another writer happy and enthused again about his work.
I look forward to your book on Facebook and the insights to be learnt from there
Derek
Derek, re your Biotech thrillers – let me know when they are due to be published. Thanks also for your feedback re Twitter for Authors (TFA). The post here is helpful, but as you will now know there are so many ways to find readers. In fact the updated version of TFA has had 100% positive feedback. Basically the responses are similar to yours – authors now have clear pathway to growing readership. ~ Jonathan
Can this be done with Facebook? I mean, is Twitter the better avenue for this, and why? Thanks.
Ruth
I’ll be writing about Facebook soon. Couple ways to find readers on FB is via groups and by searching the same way as with Twitter to locate pages set up by fans – same thinking do you see? You can’t ‘follow’ on Facebook in quite the same way, but you can ‘like’, then leave comments on posts with a link to your blog. Be sure the comments you leave add to the conversation. ~ Jonathan
Thank you, Jonathan, for posting this! What a wonderful resource you have provided!
Searching author names and book titles in your genre – brilliant and so obvious, why didn’t I think of that?
Thank you!
Ivy. There are legions of ways to locate fiction readers. I’ll post a few more from ‘Twitter For Authors’ from time to time. ~ Jonathan
just smacked my forehead. Thank you!!
C.A. It’s exciting when it is so easy yes? Twitter is the bomb. ~ Jonathan
I think this sounds like a plan that might work for many genres but I’m unsure about YA. My book is aimed at teens, how many of them will be on twitter?????
In my opinion, the question shouldn’t be about how many of the teenagers are on twitter but about how many amongst them still read books, ha,ha,ha!
Kate. Young people are not only as good as they ever were, but they are reading at least as much or more than we did at the same age. I have huge confidence in the future of books as a result. I suspect in fact that we’ll see a mass of very high quality YA material from these same people start appear over the next few years as they move from being just readers to writers as well. ~ Jonathan
@Suzanna, you never can say how many of Young Adult readers can be on Twitter. If I’m to answer you, I will say there are lot of YA book readers on Twitter than you might even think of. Twitter is a broad platform and gathering of various people. You surely will have your own YA audience in their thousands if not millions on Twitter. You just gotta give it a go and see how it goes.
Cheers!
Mayor A Lan
Suzanna. There’s a very large number of Teens – YA readers – on Twitter but you don’t see them of course because they don’t gather in your ‘Twitter tribe’ as it were.
It’s also true there are lesser numbers of them on Twitter than other groups, but given the vast population on Twitter there are enough to be definitely worth the effort. I’ll also add that a quite considerable number of people in their 20s and 30s (and older like me) read YA books too. Try the YA search technique – you’ll find them soon enough.
~ Jonathan
Hi Jonathan,
I must say a big kudos to you for this post. The problem most indie authors especially newbies and starters face in Self Publishing is how to market their book, get readers to buy and read their books and how to build their book audience on Social Media networks. Your post does thrash the issue of using Twitter to get not just book readers but also loyal followers. I recommend this post for Self Publishing Authors and I can’t help Tweeting about it.
Although Twitter is my favorite and I might look into Facebook sometimes, I look forward to reading same post topic on how to use Facebook to get book readers and to build a fans base for Self Publishing authors.
Thanks
Mayor A. Lan
Mayor. A post as you suggest re Facebook is in the works – but some weeks away yet.
~ Jonathan
Great information -and ideas. As soon as my right- hand’s tendonitis is healed I’ll re-start twitting but the right way, this time… Thanks, Jonathan!
Kate. I had the same tendonitis issue with writing. I had to start using my left hand to operate the mouse. Amazingly I’ve grown used to it. Now my right hand is healing nicely. On we go. ~ Jonathan
Hello Jonathan,
Love your work. Are you ever coming to Australia to give any workshops to help writers?
Regards Geof
Geof. I may well be in Australia to do just as you suggest. Love the lucky country to pieces. Any excuse to travel to your world I’ll take. ~ Jonathan
Jonathan,
These are great ideas for discovering the readers of a genre. It should work well for nonfiction also. I’m going to try it.
Thanks.
Flora. Let me know how it goes. I like your style – a little enthusiasm goes a long way.
~ Jonathan
Thanks for a great post. Such simple yet effective ideas. I have made many contacts on Twitter in publishing but I don’t think this has translated into sales. I write for middle grade so I must pursue the mommies, the buyers of books for their children. I find Twitter more useful to me than Facebook where often good posts get lost in the flurry of cute pics, rants against something, and incessant requests to play Farmville etc.
Fiona. Farmville? Not on my watch either! Middle Grade (Mommies) audience is gigantic. You’re in a perfect market place. Thanks for feedback. ~ Jonathan
A very nice, simple idea. I have spent the last couple of months fine tuning my blogsite as a springboard for my writings having had no success whatever with Amazon system for my children’s books and you approach sounds like a lot of fun. Readership is everything . Cheers. Mark
Mark. Readership most certainly is everything, and the more books you write the more readers you will have. Of course a series is the hottest way to achieve this. (That’s a link to the relevant article on ‘Series’.) The central idea is to ignite viral word of mouth promotion for your book using the various socal media techniques. Word of mouth is the way all books are sold in the end. This will happen if your book is beautifully written. ~ Jonathan
Jonathan, I just took your advice in respect of my newest release (late December) and by typing in historical fantasy, epic fantasy and oriental fantasy, all I revealed was dozens of authors (including mainstream authors) selling their own books.
This is why I get so sick of Twitter – because it is just wholesale selling whereas with a Facebook presence at the very least, or a Facebook Page preferably, one gets to actually and actively engage with readers in more than 140 characters. I have over 400 followers on Twitter and only a handful are loyal to my brand, re-tweeting or even advertising me. The rest I don’t know from Adam and they NEVER engage to the point where, to my detriment perhaps, I have lost interest in the medium itself.
I commented to a friend the other day that Twitter-following seems to be a numbers game only.
What do you think of Pinterest as a way of engaging with readers?
Prue. Where do I begin!
Just typing in genre category words ‘Historical fantasy, epic fantasy and oriental fantasy’ will not give a useful result. Instead you need to search within an author’s works. Read through the post again – the method is quite clear.
Twitter used the right way is a treasure trove of information and a wonderful communications center. I’ve looked at your Twitter account, and can see why you may not attract much response. Essentially you aren’t really engaging but instead frequently shouting about your book. Twitter is called social media for a reason. It is not a one way broadcast radio station. (Would you listen to a station that only ran advertising?)
However I will come to your rescue, because I see that you have a blog!
The way to attract attention and engagement is to Tweet intriguing and closely related genre content on your blog, that’s not directly about your book – but focused on fascinating information or stories from about the world around the book. Then mention your book at the end. That is an extremely effective promotion method. LOTS of people would click your Twitter links to that. It will also give people a reason to interact. The overall marketing principle is to capture interest first, and only then introduce your book. Engage first, sell second.
Re: Facebook is a wonderful author’s media, but Pinterest, while massively popular and exploding, still doesn’t have quite the same social communication power yet, although that is improving as people discover how to use it cleverly in a similar way to a blog. It is especially good for example for authors with highly pictorial potential such as Historical Romance, where a book’s content can be expanded into the related visual history of the period (see http://bestsellerlabs.com/the-billboard-that-can-make-or-break-your-books-success/) but needs to be used in conjunction with other social media.
~ Jonathan
Please understand I am not decrying your advice at all. It makes perfect sense in fact. What I meant in my comment was that I tried to find readers who like the kind of literature I read, as well as write. My results were less than celebratory in this instance.
And no disrespect, but I just checked my Twitter account as well (I rarely go there as I said) and there was re-tweeting of other authors, books I like, blogs etc, as well as genuine requests for reviewers for my latest book. But in all honesty, my blog is my favourite method of engagement and Facebook Page second. I have little faith in my ability to tweet anything meaningful unfortunately because I tend toward verbal diarrhoea!
Cheers and thanks for good advice.
You still need to attract people to your blog Prue. Twitter is great for that. Keep in touch – more info to come. ~ Jonathan
I think I may end up with a big bruise on my forehead! I’ve been moaning, groaning, and grunting for a year trying to find actual readers on Twitter. My followers number more than 2,000 but the vast majority are writers and bloggers. Thanks so much for this “light bulb moment”! Now, I’m off to mine Twitter!
Congratulations Jim. Run the process with care and you’ll soon see the readers there. Many of course won’t be interested, with specific authors they like. But once you become familiar via interaction many will grow curious and convert to your cause. ~ Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan. Great post. Only recently started on Twitter and don’t have a Facebook author page as yet. Inclined to think Twitter might be better somehow but time will tell. I’ll use the advice and look into the Twitter For Authors Mini Course! My novel is not published until this year, would you suggest trying to engage readers now or when the book is published?
Fran.
It’s best to use both Twitter and Facebook, but my advice is to hasten slowly. It’s crucial to learn how to use each channel effectively rather than dashing about trying to be everywhere – ending up as a social media Jack of all trades and master of none. (Or perhaps more accurately a ‘Jill’.)
I have posted about this issue in a most interesting way I think you’ll find. Here’s the link for you: ‘How to avoid becoming a Social Media Train Wreck.’ It guides you onto the right social media path. ~ Jonathan
PS. If you have any questions re Twitter For Authors, please feel free to ask.
The penny drops: searching the genre just throws up alot of authors who are not using twitter to find their next good read. Thankyou!
Following writers on twitter sometimes reminds me of why I dont use writers forums anymore; people whining about rejection letters, hawking formulaic ‘dark fantasies’ and breathlessly announcing that they have found an agent.
Am going to be a bit more strategic about using twitter from now.
Thanks again for your wise words!
Tom
Tom. Isn’t it extraordinary what a little lateral thinking will do? By using the same left-of-center thinking I’ve also figured out how an author can get far more reviews for their books on Amazon. Another ‘smack your forehead’ moment that I’ll be blogging about in the coming months.
I also notice that you’re in the same camp as Seth Godin re Twitter. “Stick to your interests, always be polite, grow your tribe, communicate with supporters and ignore the whiners.”
This is the perfect time to be an author.
~ Jonathan
Excellent advice and definitely welcome, but one thing I’m wondering is….aren’t writers/authors also readers? I myself am an avid reader and writer, so I do follow many authors for this reason. Maybe that isn’t enough though? I will try your advice and see what happens! Thanks for sharing
Sandy
Yes absolutely do follow authors. In my Twitter for Authors course I recommend this for the very reason you state – that authors are some of the most voracious readers of all. There’s a special section on how to locate and follow them. The purpose of this post is to ALSO solve the issue of finding the mass of readers who are generally hidden – it is a question I’m constantly asked.
~ Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan, your twitter suggestions made me think, “Well, THAT, makes sense!” As streamlined as twitter is, the process of short, concise “tweets” can be a challenge and so can selecting who to and not to follow. Facebook seems to make more sense to me, so I tend to use it more. One of my challenges on both, is figuring what time of day is most effective and not using so much of my writing time tweeting and facebooking. Thanks for the great suggestions for searching, I’ll give it a whirl!
Diane there’s a service that will tell you when the majority of your users are online: Social Bro. (The free version is sufficient for this purpose.)
Regarding how much time to put in on promotion versus writing: LOVE that you say your focus should be on writing. As a rule of thumb, I split my time 30% (as an absolute maximum) on promotional work – including social media, and 70% on creative work. If there’s chance that being on Twitter gets in the way of writing turn Twitter off. That goes for Facebook too.
~Jonathan
Great post, Jonathan! The film producer has handed me the task of building the fan base before the movie’s 2014 release, but it’s been a real struggle. I’ve tried blog tours, giveaways, blog and newspaper interviews and nothing has worked. Not even 1% of my 5500+ followers have any interest or time to read the books and the vast majority tell me, “I can’t wait for the movie to come out!”
Even the online communities that are supposed to bring readers and writers together have done nothing to generate more readers or garner any more reviews.I’ll have to try some of your tips. It seems that once I’m able to convince people to read the sample chapters, it piques and holds their interest to go and buy the books. When they do read, each month about 95-97% return to buy some or all of the first book. Some even cross genres from my movie optioned series to my YA fantasy series and vice versa, but as I said, the challenge is to garner that interest in the first place by finding the potential readers.
Thanks for another great post, Jonathan!
Lorna
Twitter is an extremely powerful promotional media – especially for building a fan base – if used the right way. But on examination, the way you are using Twitter, as it relates to the upcoming movies and your books, is not quite ‘on the right rails’ yet. What’s actually required is a properly designed marketing plan that integrates the marketing communications for both movie and books, not each working in isolation. Fortunately there is still plenty of time to make this work. I could post about this at length here, but will send you an email. Exciting days ahead! ~ Jonathan
Jonathan, you biscuit! Thanks for your advice. Timeous indeed as my book went out in December, and I haven’t had much success so far, falling about trying to figure how the whole system operates. Trouble is, I get slightly claustrophobic trying to connect in a meaningful way whilst observing the protocols of Twitter, and end up tweeting dorky comments mostly. But I shall follow your instructions, and watch for results. Thank you for this. Deeply appreciated.
Etienne, engaging with readers is an uber-high value way to build your fan base – your tribe. Twitter comments are optimal as real human interactions, with broadcasts of interesting links as chat bait. Pitching a book directly on Twitter is not productive, so instead send people to your interesting blog that talks about related subjects, where they can also discover your books. i.e. engage first, sell second.
It is the first 1000 or so copies for which you’ll need to hand crank the sales. Then at a certain point, when enough readers are reading and also recommending your books, it can begin to sell itself by word of mouth – the holy grail of book promotion. This doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen if your book is well written. Plus if your book is on the Kindle, it remains endlessly possible to send potential readers to it. Here’s where I think books will go with the Kindle. (Article.) ~ Jonathan
Great advice — thanks so much. I’m going to share the link with my author networks.
Sandra Beckwith
Thank you Sandra. More tips to follow. (I enjoy your material too – excellent.)
~Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan. You are a blessing to those of us who are new to social media. Now what is YA genre?
Thomas. YA = Young Adult, such as the Twilight Series, or Harry Potter - an extremely hot genre where many authors make a tremendous amount of money, second only to Romantic Fiction. (Click the two links I’ve provided in this comment and relevant pages will open.)
~Jonathan
Another great article, Jonathan. Simple, and yet I never tried these methods. Like so many, I simply joined Twitter and post there, ignorant of ways to use it to my advantage. I will definitely put your suggestions to good use.
Bard
Understand what you say. In fact, interaction can seem totally counterintuitive to authors on Twitter; “I don’t want to talk, I want them to buy, so I put my titles on Twitter like a billboard!” But that of course is simply spam that can even cause an author to be unfollowed. By contrast, interaction and bringing people to blog posts that are semi-related gradually builds buyers and deepening interest.
You have the perfect ‘noir’ subject to blog about to get this sort of attention in your market niche. e.g. Blog post with matching Tweet. “The 6 coolest deadbeat detectives in all of fiction history…” (Mention your own books only at the end.) You have endless material to play with to get attention for your books.
~ Jonathan
Thanks for the tips Jonathan! Helpful!
Rio. Welcome back – more to come. Examined your interesting site. Look for posts about blogging this year. It’ll leverage what you’re already doing.
~ Jonathan
I’m with a lot of readers today: Forehead-slapping tips. Great advice; definitely going to share with all the writers I know!
Dana
Your DIY writing site (‘NEXT BIG THING’) for writers is inspiring! Easy going, accessible atmosphere. I’ll link to it here http://danasitar.com/
~ Jonathan
What you may want to mention also is look up the twitter handle for the author who most resembles your style; see whose following him and follow all of those people. No need to search for his/her name in mentions.
Patrice.
Following all of an author’s Twitter followers might seem like a good way to find ‘readers’, but in practice it doesn’t work. This is because even though an author will have some reader-fans following them, the majority will be other authors, internet marketers, spammers, and random people looking for follow backs.
In fact it’s not even possible to tell who the genuine fans are in the followers, because they don’t identify themselves as fans. e.g. Margaret Atwood’s Twitter followers. It would be very unproductive to follow all her followers, as you will see. (This is not a criticism of her, but rather of the people who have cluttered up her account with junk follows.)
It is far more productive to use the search method I’ve described in this article.
~ Jonathan
Jonathan, Still alive in Reno, but buried in work. I JUST finished Reformatting my book to correct publisher errors and was ready to get back to social networking 101 today when your latest email arrived. Perfect timing! I’m now a TWEETER! I’m following you, and thanks to your post I remembered to start my account by FOLLOWING my favorite books and authors. Also forwarded article to another beginner on Twitter. TY
Linda. Thanks for forwarding this article. It will save authors from doing wasteful things. Re TWEETING…. remember to interact and Tweet interesting stuff, not your book. e.g. Link to your fascinating blog post you’ve written about subjects of interest to your type of reader, that mentions your book only at the end, by which time you’ve captured their interest. Engage first, sell second. ~ Jonathan
Great post, Jonathan. Still cruising through your books – so helpful! Don’t think I could have made much sense of twitter without them.
Kaye. Blenheim seems to be looking after you. Keep me posted how the fantasy novel progresses. ~Jonathan
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Thanks for this info! I agree that connection is important. I just find it difficult to interact on Twitter. I have a lot of success with Facebook and some success with Goggle. I have zero success with Twitter, but I continue to follow and I do get back followers. Who knows, maybe it will turn around? God bless you!
It’s all about interaction Theresa. I can see that you already do that successfully on your Facebook page. One way to repeat this on Twitter is to pick a couple of random people each day, and comment on what they say. (Ignore authors shouting out their books, that’s not interactive.) This is the way to start valuable relationships and bring people to your books. ~ Jonathan
Thanks for posting. I’m learning… and ready to read your Twitter guide after I’ve finished your Guide for Authors. Pure gold.
Martin, re dubbing my book ‘Pure Gold’: Thank you. Yes, do take time over reading it. The guide is written to be as lucid as possible to clear confusion about book promotion. When you get into Twitter for Authors, note that Chapter 3 in module #1 reveals the main system for succeeding with Twitter ~Jonathan
Jonathan, what’s the best way to handle different reader groups? For example, I write specialised nonfiction (The Trout Diaries and upcoming Trout Bohemia, essentially travel books) for which the market is well-defined and relatively easy to target, and I write thrillers which are a different kettle of fish altogether. The readers overlap is not evident. What do you suggest? Different accounts or one author with multiple interest? Or something else entirely?
Derek.
Individual (unrelated) products need distinct marketing channels. Clearly it is not possible to mix them up as the customers will not be the same. So it isn’t really possible to create an overarching personal brand on Twitter for both. Many have tried, none have succeeded!
“Don’t become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific.” as Zig Ziglar used to say.
To be clearer, it isn’t about you, it’s about the subject or book that prospective readers are interested in. So each requires it’s own channel – e.g. Travellers blog, Twitter ‘travellers’ account, Facebook ‘travellers’ page. Tedious yes, but there’s no way around it. You’ll also have to choose how to use your existing Twitter account – which market niche to cover, for now and for the long term.
One last thing: Avoid pushing your books in Tweets. (But in profile is ok). Instead Tweet links to your interesting blog posts about your genre with your own books mentioned at only at the end, by which time interest has been captured.
~ Jonathan
I have been active, (and interactive) on both facebook and twitter but as you so rightly point out it’s easy to find writers than it is to find readers …although I am an Amazon and Goodreads Author too. Your suggestions on Twitter searches are invaluable thank you Jonathan …you are making many Indie writers lives easier!!
Penny. Facebook & Twitter with your own blog, plus Goodreads and Amazon listings is the ideal mix. Any more channels than that may cause your social media train to crash off the rails. See my impassioned plea re focusing your social media strategy in this post: http://bestsellerlabs.com/social-media-train-wreck-that-authors-must-avoid/
~ Jonathan
Great advice! Thanks.
Thanks for great advice, Jonathan. I’m wondering why I didn’t think of it myself. I’ll be looking for readers of fallen angels and coming of age stories. I’m sure I’ll find many. I’ve made some great friends on twitter, and on Facebook and some have become fans. Hopefully with your great ideas, I’ll meet more, as well as find more books in that genre to read.
Patricia
Look for the bestseller books in your genre – re fallen angels / coming of age. That will produce the greatest number of search results on Twitter.
~Jonathan
Great information as always Jonathan! You have helped to answer the ubiquitous questions. Where are they???
Thanks buddy!
Patricia
The story tease on your site for ‘Flying Solo’ caught my eye… a great promo.
“…she takes flying lessons behind her powerful husband’s back. He’s livid when he finds out. An ogre, he threatens her with divorce. Which she is glad to get until she loses custody of her children. Newly in love and desperate to get them back, she steals a plane….” SHE STEALS A PLANE?? Great! ~ Jonathan
As someone who is truly a virgin to all of this, your tips are most welcome. Isn’t it funny how we often make things much more difficult than they need to be?
Melissa.
Re making online promotion more complicated than we need to. Here’s what to do.
http://bestsellerlabs.com/social-media-train-wreck-that-authors-must-avoid/. This is a terrific era we’re entering. The golden age for authors, and it’s only just started.
~ Jonathan
So, great. What if you don’t have a genre?
Janet. Find bestselling writers of your ‘type’ of book being talked about on Twitter. There must be well-known writers of your type of fiction – or similar to yours. This applies to non-genre, one-off literature the same as does to genre fiction, just requires more thought / analysis. Then apply the book title and content methods. ~ Jonathan
Great article, Jonathan. Thank you so much for sharing. I will be sharing your site and info with my fellow writers. I hope to use your strategies very soon as my middle grade fantasy is just about to release. Best to you!
Jeanne
Jeanne. For middle grade fantasy the market is very large and permanent, with a lot of communication around it. So I wouldn’t wait unil your book is released to start promotion. Start collecting supporters and potential readers ASAP. A blog is the best place to center this activity. Let me know when the book is released.~ Jonathan
Dear Mr. Gunson,
I stumbled on your blog through a friend’s post on Google Plus. I don’t believe in accidental meetings, but divine moments. This is one of them. As I struggle through the jungle of Social Media and how to work smarter, not harder, and am drowning in marketing. . . Let’s just say I can’t thank you enough for bringing me back to the surface so I can breathe again.
I’m going to take time away from the fray of social media to study your blogs and restructure what I’m doing to be efficient and effective. I’ve got a good start, but I need to tweak my plan and strategy. I have a lot of work ahead of me; the difference now is that I have some good information to go forward with. I’ve already begun passing along your information to those I know who will appreciate it as much or more than I do. Thank you again.
Kindest regards,
Cat McMahon
http://www.catsstories.com
Cat. Social media certainly is a jungle, but there are pathways through. The key is to become expert in one channel at a time, as explained in this Social Media advisory http://bestsellerlabs.com/social-media-train-wreck-that-authors-must-avoid/ The alternative is to be a Jack of all trades and master of none. ~ Jonathan
Dear Jonathon,
Thank you for your words of wisdom. I figured out I bit off more than I could chew last week and had decided I had to choose to master one social media at a time before I moved on to the next. Your assurance affirms my decision and the direction I am taking.
Sincerely,
Cat
Dear Jonathon,
I’ve read loads of advice about using Twitter to improve my readership, but your ideas are really helpful, and I’m going to start right away. I’m a self-published author of two crime novels and I’m getting some really good feedback – just not enough!! So thank you!
Tanya
Tanya. Crime have so many great ways to be promoted – from the jovial (link up with Cluedo) to the serious. ~ Jonathan
Jonathan,
These are some great tips. I’m a YA author with a decent following (could be better), and I’m about to see my first adult mystery published. I created a new Twitter handle, but I’ve been at a loss as to how to generate followers for that new identity. You’ve given some excellent, very doable ideas. Thanks!
Karen. I hope your Adult Mystery is a series. So much more promotional scope. http://bestsellerlabs.com/the-hottest-tip-no-fiction-writer-can-afford-to-ignore/ Jonathan
Thanks, Jonathan! I am still working on my debut novel, but I write a blog where I review debut authors. I am trying to build a platform of readers as well as writers. I appreciate the help. It does seem like one of the moments you slap your forehead saying to yourself: Wow! I should have realized that myself!
Rebecca. A review blog has great crowd building capacity for your own books as well. Best to also give something valuable in exchange for email addresses to grow the beginnings of an audience so you can notify them when you launch. ~ Jonathan
I am a new author and am just getting into the world twitter. This post was extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Simon. Check out this post if you’re new to Social Media. http://bestsellerlabs.com/social-media-train-wreck-that-authors-must-avoid/
~Jonathan
[...] I read a fantastic blog on How to Find Readers on Twitter and I encourage you to pop on over to Jonathan Gunson’s Best Seller Lab’s Blog if you’re [...]
[...] Jonathan Gunson offers slap-your-head simple tips you may not have thought of for connecting with readers (rather than more authors) on Twitter. [...]
Hey Jonathan,
thanks a lot for the post! Yes, it’s obvious, isn’t it? Clear case of not seeing the forest for all the trees….
[...] What you can do TODAY: Read and take action on this post from Jonathan Gunson with 3 fresh ways to find readers on Twitter. [...]
[...] 3 Ways to Find Readers on Twitter [...]
Another brilliant post. Thank you so much for your tips. Was half way there, in searching out the author names but was just adding people who followed them. Didn’t think to take that one step further and look at the people engaged with those authors (ie, posting about them, their books and their characters). So simple yet so easy.
[...] Gunson: 3 Great Ways to Find Readers for Your Books on Twitter. Excellent search and find strategy here – Must Read for Writers using Twitter. Also from [...]
Jonathan, I just “met” you today on Twitter via the link to this blog.
I was delighted to discover you and your wealth of information. I am new to the social media scene, only having participated in earnest for little over a week. While I find it incredibly overwhelming at times (especially Twitter with it’s fast-paced, endlessly flowing jet stream of tweets), I must say that I love it.
As a new author, I’m looking for ways to build lasting relationships with potential readers. Yes, I’d like to eventually have enough sales to make a comfortable, modest living so I can continue being a novelist, but for me the writing is about connecting with others. I write to increase empathy and understanding — among human beings in general and specifically around those with mental illness. What better way to connect with others than through social media.
I really appreciate your tips on finding and connecting with readers on Twitter. Thank you. You also asked for your readers’ opinion regarding Twitter vs. Facebook. I do think both have potential for making connections. They are drastically different, so each can be used in distinct ways to reach people. I’m too new at this to decide if one is more effective than the other. My opinion at this point is that each is effective in its own way. We’ll see how that changes over time (especially once my book is actually available; it’s only in the ARC stage right now).
Oh, and I see you have a course for authors on the use of Twitter. Fantastic! I have bookmarked this site and will revisit it soon. I am very interested in your course.
Have a wonderful day!
Tanya. The process of finding readers and encouraging them to read your books is, quite simply, all about making meaningful connections. We’re of the same mind. ~ Jonathan
[...] How to Find Readers on Twitter by Jonathan Gunson [...]
Hello Jonathan, just your message on Twitter thought I’d have a look at all the comments on the article is very educational. The one problem I am having is Twitter saying that I can not follow anymore people. They seemed to have put a limit. Now my thinking is this is because I do not have enough followers at the moment. With people i’m following far exceeding that who are following me. Or is it more of you can follow only so many per day? Thanks again for taking time to do all this, every article is a gem.
Stephen
Re Twitter, there are several things to do. You seem to have followed quite few junk accounts. e.g. ‘@CamillaBirkelan’. That looks to me like a junk account with no Tweets. Those sorts of accounts are of no use to you. They are also easy to spot – no picture to start with, and no profile details.
So I would unfollow about 20 people each day of that type, even if they followed you first. (Or unfollow some of those who have not followed you back.) Do this for a 5 days. Do it slowly and then no more unfollows for a couple of days. Need to not rush it. Twitter is likely then to let you follow some people again. If so, pick some real people to follow. And follow perhaps 20 people no more each day.
Plus (and this will help too): Comment on a couple of Tweets by other authors each day. Twitter likes to see interaction, not just broadcasts. Let me know how it goes, and then we can take the next steps.
~ Jonathan
You answered the very next question I had – which it seems everyone has! haha
And, I am going to try your advice and see what gives.
Like I said in my other posts – my followers are other writers (which I absolutely do not mind because it makes me realize just how many we are and that is really paramount to knowing just how much time is spent on creativity) and so why would other writers want to read my book when they are so busy trying to pitch theirs and write their next one!
Thanks again for your advice,
CC Dailly
C.C.Dailly
Fellow writers can still help you. They have their own communities too.
~ Jonathan
Hi Jonathan,
Great post and an eyeopener on what to and what not to do. I never would have thought on searching Twitter for readers the way you suggest. I’m going to give it a go.
Thanks for sharing this.
Lucy. Twitter is standing by for your search.
~Jonathan
Great post and information sharing Jonathan! I was a complete Twitter Twit a few months ago, but just before my debut release came out, one of my cousins from England came over on a visit. He’s not only a lawyer and circuit judge, but a playwrite as well. He gave me some of the same advice as you did, but you added to it and gave me more hands-on tools to use with Twitter. Thank you!
Debbie – share which tools?
~Jonathan
[...] http://bestsellerlabs.com/how-to-find-readers-on-twitter/ [...]
Jonathan,
Terrific ideas; would never had occurred to me to use Twitter in this way. I tried #2 and #3. Not many people came up. Not quite sure what to make of it (more like my lack of skill to be perfectly honest).
Thanks and keep the articles and ideas coming.
Steve
Box on Steve. Twitter is FULL of readers, but this search method is not a ‘quick-fire’ strategy. It takes time and thought. You’ll get there.
~Jonathan
Jonathan…if I was Bartholomew Cubbins, I would take off 500 hats for you.:)
Not only have you provided a great article with clear and simple tips that even the most non-tech person could follow…in addition, you respond to comments with unbelievable detail and concern.
Two years ago I knew nothing about blogging, tweeting or any social media. I limped along…and still have SO much to learn. I was guilty of ‘broadcasting advertising’ for a while…love how you described that as if the tweeter were a radio station…who would listen if all they heard was advertising…it was spot-on! I’m always open to hearing what and how I am doing things wrong…and how to do them right, because, in the end, it is all about connecting to the world to make it a better place.
Vivian
Thanks. That’s almost an Oscar! Main thing is to keep driving people to your books on Amazon in the first instance. They will do the rest if you follow their systems.
~Jonathan
What an eye opener. Thanks so much!
[...] http://bestsellerlabs.com/how-to-find-readers-on-twitter/ [...]
You had me at your headline! I’m an indie publisher/author and I’ve been thrilled at how many authors in my genre I’ve been able to connect with on Facebook, but I have wanted to figure out how to find potential readers. I started searching for tweets about similar authors, and figured, hey, somebody has to have already figured this one out
So lo and behold, Google brought me to your blog. I happily purchased your course. Thanks for these tips!
Thanks Vada. Let me know if you need any help.
~Jonathan
Thanks, Jonathan. I’m finding that the material (in your Twitter course) is far beyond what I expected in both content and delivery–very to the point, but never overwhelming, delivering exactly what I’m looking for as indie author that wants and needs to be visible.
Thanks again!
~VKB
You’re welcome Vada. As a result of the course and its frequent reference to blogging, I’ve had many requests for more detailed advice, so I’m ploughing through constructing a blogging product at the moment. Determined to maintain the standard.
~Jonathan
Brilliant. Absolutely, completely brilliant AEB the smack to the head I just gave myself for not thinking of it.
Sure is a facepalm moment Evelyn. I use the 3 ‘reader’ techniques every day.
~Jonathan
Excellent advice, Jonathan, and yeah, up until last week it hadn’t dawned on me to use the search for related bestsellers.
I don’t like automated “thx for following” tweets, with or without the “buy my book!” plug attached. So for me, engaging readers immediately would be by commenting or RT’g something in their streams.
J. Rose.
Hope it works for you. Some genres are certainly easier than others.
Regarding “thx for following” auto tweets. I don’t do those as a rule, but I do have an automated direct message ‘thank you for following’ that offers my ‘author publishing guide’ for free download. But I also mix those up with many ‘real’ personalised direct messages so no-one seems to mind.
~Jonathan