The Internet has made it easier for aspiring and veteran authors alike to get their works published, as the web is an effective platform for self-publishing. However, one of the disadvantages of self-publishing an eBook when compared to traditional print media is that authors are basically on their own. Without big name publishers to foot the bill, promotion, marketing, and sales all turn into a logistics nightmare. Fortunately, the Internet has also given authors effective platforms for promotion by way of social media, and one of the most effective is Twitter. If you haven’t taken advantage of Twitter yet, here are a few ways Twitter can help you sell more eBooks:
Twitter is Free
Unless they have some set aside budget for marketing and advertising activities, most self-published authors don’t have the money needed to rent ad space on a newspaper, much less launch an entire promotional campaign. Twitter, on the other hand, provides the same amount of (if not more) exposure without costing a single cent. Most self-publishing attempts would stop dead on the promotional side of things, but Twitter will let you hurdle that challenge.
You Get Direct Connections with Potential and Existing Readers
With traditional publishing, your interaction with readers is mostly one-sided; you get a book published, promote it, and hope the message reaches people. With Twitter, you get an eBook published and the readers can provide feedback directly. This level of connection might not mean much in terms of direct sales, but they go a long way in establishing a relationship with readers. In the online world of course, relationships are critical – relationships that when nurtured will lead to loyal fans and repeat purchases.
Twitter Provides the Tools Needed for Promoting
Imagine if you can immediately attract the attention of people who would be interested in your book with a single word, or imagine if a single word would allow you to find all of the people who might be interested in your eBook? Twitter gives you one such tool: the hashtag. If you choose the right hashtag for promoting your eBook and the right people search for it as well, you’ll get so much exposure that can lead to additional sales, provided your eBook is actually worth buying
It’s Possible to Get Recommendations from Industry Leaders
Everybody is on Twitter nowadays, even celebrities and people who are influential in your chosen niche. If you attract the attention of one and he or she likes your eBook enough to Tweet about it, you’d automatically gain “street cred” from the people that matter.
Twitter Makes it Easy for Word of Mouth to Spread
Word of mouth is still the most effective form of advertising, as it is not met with skepticism unlike traditional paid advertisements. With Twitter, word of mouth is actually made even more powerful because people only need to click their mouse buttons a few times to get the word out, not to mention their recommendations can contain direct links to your eBook sales page- dramatically reducing the length of the sales funnel.
In Twitter, retweeting can be considered word of mouth. You can retweet, tweets that you find interesting on Twitter with your followers who can then further retweet with those who are following them. Now imagine getting an influencer in your industry to retweet a tweet about your eBook to his or her list of 1 Million followers? Just consider the exposure you would get. With the right approach this is certainly a possibility.
However, You Need to Learn How to Use Twitter
Before you go out and sign up for a Twitter account, don’t fall under the impression that Twitter is an instant soapbox or the classifieds section. If your Twitter feed contains nothing but promotional tweets about your eBook, chances are you’re not going to get any followers much less sales. So, get a Twitter account and use it like a normal person first. Follow people, interact with them, and join in on their conversations. Twitter will help you sell more eBooks as long as you don’t forget the word “social” in Social Media.
Image credit: Shawn Campbell on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0