I spent most of last weekend at the Festival of Golden Words rubbing shoulders with Hannah Kent, Andy Griffiths and Dr Philip Nitschke, amongst many others and thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in all things literary. While there were many valuable pieces of information I picked up on honing my writing and tapping into inspiration, it was a session about the positives and negatives of the internet that had me thinking about how we promote ourselves online. Chair Tristan Bancks asked the panel – comprising Wendy Harmer, Danielle Wood, Matthew Lamb and Sherryl Clark – about how they promoted themselves as writers (or how others should promote themselves as authors) online. There was a very mixed response; with seven blogs and websites Sherryl was very comfortable in the online space, whereas Danielle and Matthew admitted to shying away from interacting on social media as much as possible (as many introverted writers tend to do).
Share, don’t promote
However, Wendy shared her formula that both works for her in promoting her own writing and in what she responds to as a social media consumer. It is: craft great words and share pictures and quotes. It sounds simple, but when I thought about it, the advice rang true. I respond much more to words and images that inspire me (whether from the online contact or by them sharing others’ content) than to hyper-promotion along the lines of “buy my book!” My social media formula has always been what I call the ‘rule of thirds’, because I share what I’m working on (client projects, articles I’m researching, presentations I’m preparing for), interesting links I find (articles, blogs, videos) and what is happening in my life (child’s birthday party, book launch). I think this split would meet Wendy’s requirements.
Measure engagement, not numbers
Going back to Matthew Lamb, he made a point that was equally relevant when it came to online promotion. While follower numbers may (or may not) be indicative of how much value someone can bring you online, it’s not the be all and end all. As the editor of Tasmania’s literary magazine, Island, he is responsible for managing the magazine’s Twitter account and said it was subscribers, not followers that counted to him. Those who paid for the publication were far more engaged than those who followed Island’s Twitter account. I can see Matthew’s point here; having an online conversation is great, but ultimately if you’re promoting your product (or service) online you need to see tangible results, like paid subscriptions, to know you’re hitting the mark. Much has been written about how social media should be treated like a two-way conversation, rather than a one-way megaphone – which is essentially what Wendy and Matthew both spoke about – showing, slow and steady can indeed win the race.
