What you should be posting on Social Media as an Author.

When a new author comes to me and asks how they should start, I always advise them to begin building their author brand. There is never a time too early to get it going, even if you don’t have anything to share yet.

I admit, social media isn’t what it was as far as your author platform goes, but it is a part of it. When people follow that advice, they make their page, their profile, set up their twitter, their Instagrams and whatever else and then say, “Now what?” And after a week or so, in comes the words, “I don’t have anything to say.” Believe me; I have been there myself.

I think as authors, indie authors especially, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to post every day, and then we start to add the judgment of it is good enough. I bet, though, you have more to post about that you realise, especially if you shut that little voice up inside your head.

Promotional Posts.

Of course, this is a type of post you want on your pages but keep them to a minimum. Social media isn’t what it used to be, and you aren’t going to sell many books if any at all through social media. Yeah, you may once in a while reach a new reader, and that’s fantastic, but if all you ever post is promotional posts, you’re going to drive people off.

Promotional posts really should be left to your new releases, or when you have something to promote, not just a bog-standard post every day.

People get numb to it, sick of it and they start filtering you out. So keep them simple and not all the time.

Personal Posts.

This one is a matter of judgment on your part. When I say personal, I mean personal and not private. There is a difference.

Readers do want an insight into the author. It is just human nature to be curious about each other. I find this type of post is what helps me connect with other people. And when people connect, they will buy. However, don’t post fake personal stuff. Honestly, people can tell, and it turns them off for you. I once sent out an email about all kinds of things, and I happened to include in there about my dog being down, and I didn’t know what was wrong with her. So many people replied to me. It was probably the most significant response I’ve ever had. They wanted to see how the dog was. Some wanted to share their own experiences, and some sent suggestions, but the connection was made with people.

One important thing to keep in mind, though, is don’t go too personal. Be wary of posting pictures of your children, your house, and things like first days of school, or even holiday snaps when you advertise your house is empty.

If you wouldn’t want the dodgy bloke down the road knowing about it. You know, one with the overgrown garden, the stream of visitors and the ruined cars in the driveway … don’t post it.

Selected Posts

Post about your niche. Selected posts mean just that. Don’t try to post everything you can about writing, but find your place inside it, your niche. If you don’t know about sci-fi or horror, then don’t try to focus on writing about it because you might attract that kind of reader. Honestly, they probably aren’t reading your posts.

Selecting posts means you are defining yourself in a genre, and while I know it is like throwing yourself in shackles, it is attracting the kind of people interested. And you don’t have to be posting about writing either. For example, say you’re a horror writer, and then you post about seeing the Nun in the cinema. You’re hitting your audiences’ probable interest.

Selecting your posts tie in with personal posts too. I post a few vegan things I find interesting because I am vegan, and so that is part of me, and something personal. I also post gaming things, because I game. But I also post books I read that are in the same genre I write in, and this gets a commonality with your audience.

Conclusion

It can be hard to find the right balance, but I’d say if you keep promotional posts to a minimum and focus on the other, you won’t go far wrong.

However, do be careful with what you post. When I said selected posts,

keep out your political views. For example, you may love Trump, you might hate him, but your author social media platform is not the place to exercise that.