Social media can help authors sculpt an online opportunity for their unique voice and enable them to share their writing with readers across various channels. You can sit in India but still have the power to tell your story to readers in other parts of the world. When used correctly, it can develop into a powerful, self-propagating engine for generating widespread interest in your writing. That’s the power of social media!

Social media gives every individual a reach that was unimaginable before. Today having a social media plan and strategy in place is essential for every author.

An important fact about social media today is how easy it is for authors to connect with their readers. It’s a tool to help market ourselves, our writing, and our brand.

Here are some tips that will help when using social media and the internet:

Your readers will be more than willing to spread the word about your books when they know you are interested in them. Show interest in your readers, not as people who buy your books but as fellow book lovers who share your passion for stories. Interact with them on this level, which will be a great beginning...

• Be personable with your readers on a level that you are comfortable with.
• Know your brand as it’s a promise to your readers. Your brand must be about you and not solely about your books.
• There are several ways to use Instagram. You could share your book covers or you could share your personal life or your passion. 
• Readers will love to talk about your books and they’ll often use hashtags on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumbler, etc. Find out if that’s true by searching for your name or book titles in hashtags and thank your readers.
• Remain truthful about your brand in everything you do, whether it’s in posts, images, or reviews. 
• Do not react to bad reviews. This never ends well. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Not everyone might be your reader but everyone has the right to like or not like your books. It’s hard to read reviews that are not favourable.
• Think outside the box. Look for something you are passionate about and share it with your readers. You will be surprised to learn how many others share that passion with you. 
• Try and stay away from politics or religion on social media.
• Focus on your readers and not on your sales. 
• You don’t always need to be online and interact with readers. They will tell you to get writing.
• Decide the goal of your website – a static site with information about your books or a way to interact with readers – and keep it within your brand.
• Creating your newsletter is very crucial. It is another way to interact with your readers and can be relatively easy to set up. Use your newsletter to share readers’ news about your books, any deals you have, or contests you want to share with them.
• Do not be afraid to take chances and try new things.
• Keep your author videos short and sweet if you want to try doing videos and posting them on social media. You can be goofy – your readers will appreciate that you stepped outside your comfort zone for them.

You’ll notice that a lot of the above tips are about focusing on your readers. This is an area a lot of authors struggle with. 

Focus on your readers and not on your sales: ‘Without your readers, you have no sales’.