Social Media for Writers (Fiction, Non-fiction, and Freelance), presented at Eugene Wordcrafters in September 2014.

1. Sophia McDonald Bennett
Writer • Editor • Communications •
Social Media

2.  How social media can help writers / why you
should pay attention
 My three “Golden Rules” of social media
marketing
 Popular social media platforms
 Social media tips
 Ideas for managing social media so it doesn’t
take over your life

3. It can help you sell books
 Word of mouth marketing is so important! A
recent Nielsen survey shows that 84% of
people think that getting a recommendation
from someone they know is the most
trustworthy source of information. Turn your
fans/followers into your word of mouth
marketers.
Source: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2013/under-the-
influence-consumer-trust-in-advertising.html

4.  Even big-time authors like Paulo Coehlo and
Margaret Atwood use social media (check out
this blog post on five authors using social
media well: http://blog.hootsuite.com/five-authors-
using-social-media/)

5. Everyone is doing it
 Pew Research poll shows that 74% of adults
who are online use social networking sites. 89%
of those people are between the ages of 18-29,
but 65% are between 50-64 years of age.
 Your publisher may ask you get active on
social media
Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-
sheet/

6.  Help you advance a cause (or sell a product) if
you have one
 Example: Bill McKibben (@billmckibben)
 Example: Christina Katz (@thewritermama)
 Get an insight into agents and publishers
 Learn things
 Get ideas
 Network without as much small talk

7.  Treat social media as a way to interact and
build community with people
 Make your social media pages into resources
for people
 Listen as much as you talk

8. Goodreads is a social
networking site for book
lovers and authors
Facebook is one of the largest and old
social networking sites. Great for
interacting with fans.
Twitter is an invaluable source of
news and information. Posts
limited to 140 characters

9. LinkedIn is for professional networking.
Can be a good choice for freelance and
non-fiction writers.
Pinterest is a photo sharing site. Great
for sharing book covers and if you
write about something highly visual.
YouTube is a video sharing site.
Very popular with young people.
Posts videos to your website, etc.

10. Google+ is a terrific way to connect and
interact with people who have similar
interests.
Instagram is another photo sharing
site. Also very popular with young
people.

11.  Don’t try to use every social media platform
 Have a plan and set measurable goals
 Share content – yours and other people’s
 Share content regularly – but not too regularly
 My general rule of thumb: once every weekday but
not more than three times a day

12.  Offer your followers things
 Neil Gaiman wrote 12 short stories based on fan
feedback on his Twitter page: @Neilhimself
 Author Matt Iden recently hosted a book cover
contest on his Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/matthew.iden
 Interact with people in a timely manner, and be
positive

13.  Be transparent
 Do not delete people’s posts without thinking twice
and getting guidance! Here’s a good place to start:
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2014/08/20/the-6-
critical-types-of-social-media-comments-you-must-plan-
for/
 Feel free to experiment
 Use images and videos as much as possible
 Give it some time and keep working at it

14.  Limit the amount of time you spend on it
 Limit the number of sites you use
 Use a social media dashboards
 My favorite is Hootsuite
 Download social media apps on your phone

15. Sophia McDonald Bennett
sophiamcbennett@gmail.com
www.sophiathewriter.com
@SophiaWriter1
@SophiaMBennett