Twitter for Authors: An Interview with Rusty Shelton

Rusty:  The primary goal of Twitter is to use it to build relationships with the following groups:

• the top 50 journalists/bloggers/media members in your topic area (make a list and tweet to someone on this list at least 1x a day)
• the top 50 influencers/authors/experts/authorities in your topic area (make a list and tweet to someone on this list at least 1x a day)
• the top 50 groups/organizations/conferences/associations/businesses you want to build relationships with (make a list and tweet to someone on this list at least 1x a day)

Additionally, Twitter gives you a great platform to thank people who help you with your book launch and to connect with readers who talk about your book. A public shout-out on Twitter is much more powerful than a private email.

Twitter Authors’ Success Stories

Lisa: The instructions remind me of the story of the success of the original Chicken Soup for the Soul. As I heard it, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hanson did one thing for their book every day. This sounds like the modern version of that and something that can elevate the success of an author in an organic and authentic way. Do you have some examples of goals your clients had and met on Twitter?

Rusty: One of my favorite stories is that of Carol Sanford. A successful speaker and consultant to international corporations like Colgate, Seventh Generation, and DuPont, Carol came to me skeptical about how Twitter could improve her platform. She hired us to help launch her first book, The Responsible Business. After putting four years of her life into writing that book, she wanted to make sure she left no stone unturned when it came to marketing. She knew the importance of coverage from traditional outlets like Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC-TV, and other major players. Yet, as someone who came of age before the massive changes and disruption in the media, Twitter was not on her radar.

Despite her skepticism, we were able to convince her to give Twitter a try. Within a few weeks, Carol had mastered the basics of Twitter, and we had developed a strategy to build relationships with journalists and key influencers in her topic area using her new Twitter skills. As a new—and relatively unknown—author, Carol needed to mine every opportunity to connect with influential people, and Twitter offered her that chance.
Almost immediately, Carol connected with Sam Ford, a popular blogger at Fast Company. Sam had written a post that Carol loved, and she retweeted his tweet about the post, adding a personalized comment.

Carol was drawn to Sam’s unique approach to blogging, by the way, as he used soap operas to illustrate various business situations. This caught Carol’s eye and prompted her to praise his originality. Sam, like many journalists, kept a close eye on his Twitter account and thanked Carol for her comment. From there, the two started a conversation on Twitter about what it truly means to be a responsible business. The connection was made, and when Carol’s book released six months later, the cover featured Sam’s endorsement. He even invited her to speak at a few business events, and forged a personal friendship as well.

Were it not for Twitter, Carol and Sam were unlikely to have ever connected. But Carol’s story didn’t end there. Based on a continued focus on using rented media (in her case, Twitter) to build relationships with key targets, Carol self-generated coverage in Inc. magazine; appeared at a Fast Company conference; hosted a conference at Vault, an event space showcasing cutting-edge ideas; and was invited to do some consulting work with Google where we had nailed down a book talk for her.

She recalls her comment when we first brought up the importance of rented media, “I thought Twitter was just shallow. Not substantive, at best, and at worst, a place to celebrity watch. What I found was some of the most interesting thinkers in the world. And, being an introvert, I am not at all sure I could have connected with them any other way.”

[bctt tweet=”Twitter Tips for Authors” username=”LisaTener”]

Lisa: Wow, what a testament to what’s possible when you take Twitter seriously, spend time on Twitter and authentically respond to what you see there, particularly when you find a fresh voice that resonates for you. What are some of the things you advise your clients to do when they first get on Twitter?

Rusty: The first thing to do is build your a quality profile. I can’t tell you how many people I see sign up for Twitter and not post a quality bio, well-designed header image or even an avatar picture. This Twitter account is going to be become a key first impression for many people – make sure it’s a good one.

Secondly, Twitter is all about focus. Many people call it the world’s biggest cocktail party, which I think is the perfect analogy. Just like cocktail parties, people circle up in small groups on Twitter talking about an infinite amount of topics. Some talk about House of Cards, others the election and so on. You don’t want to just wander around this cocktail party or you’ll never get anywhere. The crucial step here: build the three lists I described above and focus at least 75% of your content on those lists.

Third, use the same etiquette you would at a cocktail party. Think about it – would you really lead into a conversation with “Hey – guess what? My new book’s you! You can buy it here!” Absolutely not and you shouldn’t do that on Twitter either. Take a conversational approach and create a voice on Twitter that positions you to talk peer to peer with the lists I mentioned above.

Rusty: Take advantage of the data Twitter gives you access to. The search field on Twitter is one of the most under-utilized tools on the platform. If you are an author, search for the 10 most popular books in your category and see what people are saying about them. Are there bloggers you can follow? Maybe conferences you should pay attention to? Likewise, track everyone who is talking about your content on Twitter. Most who share your blog posts, articles and even talk about your book won’t take the time to find your Twitter handle and tag you, so you must proactively track that content using the search field.

Rusty: The biggest benefit of Twitter isn’t necessarily direct book sales, it’s relationship-building with journalists, influencers and others who can then turn around and invite an author to do an interview, write a guest post, give a keynote or even come in and do a workshop. The results of Twitter more often than not are found off of Twitter in the form of PR, business development and, most importantly, new relationships.

Rusty: Me-first content is by far the biggest and most common mistake I see on Twitter. If more than 10% of your content benefits you (links to your book, promotional content, etc.) you’re the person no one wants to talk to at the cocktail party.

The other mistake I see is when authors proactively pitch themselves to journalists on Twitter. Your goal in relationship-building on the platform isn’t a direct pitch to them – it’s pulling them to you by talking to them like a peer. In other words, instead of saying “Hi @DavidSmith – loved your column in the @WSJ today. I’d like to interview with you on that topic next time” say something along the lines of “Really interesting piece from @DavidSmith in the @WSJ today. Love his unique angle on neuroplasticity – don’t see that much.”

You want the journalist to find your tweet interesting and on-topic enough to click through and look at your bio and (hopefully) then click through to your website.

Authors: Track Your Twitter

Lisa: What are some benchmarks authors might use to evaluate how they are doing with Twitter?

Rusty:  These are the benchmarks that we track for our Members/Clients on Twitter:

• Engagement (how many people engage with your content? This could include likes, responses and retweets)
• Reach (how many impressions are you getting on Twitter?)
• Results (how many media hits, speaking invites and other ‘offline’ results have been generated?)
• Followers (this is what everyone focuses on but it’s much less important than impact)

Updated bio (2022): Rusty Shelton is Founder and President of Zilker Media. He is co-author of Mastering the New Media Landscape: Embrace the Micromedia Mindset.  Visit Rusty’s website for a free copy of The Twitter Playbook.

Have a question about Twitter for authors? Ask as a comment below. Or share your insights about the benefits of Twitter for authors. Share your tips, too.

And here are the next two posts in the Social Media for Authors series:

• Frances’ Caballo shares her tips on Goodreads for Authors.
• Sara Pence shares why Guest Blogging is such an excellent strategy for authors–and how to guest blog successfully.