I see it on Twitter and Facebook almost daily…
…and it makes me sad.
It’s when authors, with good intentions, setup social media accounts for their books. Specifically I mean setting up a separate Facebook page or Twitter account just for their book.
I know, it might “seem” like a good idea at first but… trust me, it’s not. There are several reasons why but the two most important reasons are this:
1. It fragments your traffic.
2. You likely won’t sustain it.
Let me explain…
As you build your platform you want to build it around people following you or your brand, not a product or a book (FYI: A book is a form of a product). Why? Because even though you might have one book now and it may be your primary focus… what happens when you eventually have two books, three books, four or more? You have to think long-term and be strategic. Not only that, you want to try and keep your platform consolidated as best you can so that you can concentrate your effectiveness and leverage it for the best result over time. Think about a laser, it’s concentration is what makes it so powerful. It’s far better to have 1000 people following one account (your primary) than to split it up and have some here, some there, etc. When you splinter it off, inevitably what happens is that you can’t keep up with it all. Yeah, you might be able to at first when the excitement is there but give it a month or two and I’d be willing to bet money that you will find yourself neglecting the secondary accounts if not ignoring them all together. It’s just what happens and when it does, you have that splintered traffic (followers) that are basically then wasted.
Think about other authors that you follow or look up to. Do you ultimately follow their book / product or do you follow them as writers?
I don’t follow Trust Agents, although it’s a great book, I follow Chris Brogan. Same for Jeff Goins, Jon Gordon, Michael Hyatt, Mark Batterson, Tony Robbins, John Maxwell or any other author out there. When I love their books, I love their impact and thus I follow them and look forward to the next thing they will write.
The same will be true for those who look up to you.
Keep it simple. Keep it concentrated and you’ll achieve far better results in the long run.
*There are a few special situations where this does not apply but for most authors, it does.
You Might Also Like:
- 7 Helpful Marketing Tips for Authors (and Those with Something to Say or Sell)
- 14 Platform Building Tips for Authors
- 10 Reasons Why Email Marketing Still Trumps Everything Else (Yes, Even Social Media)